The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time
by Phantom 1
Summary: A quest to capture an old foe leads Gage Blackwood to a horrifying secret regarding three civilizations from Earth's Past. Based on the computer game with a few modifications.
1. Author's Introduction

Author's Introduction

Hi, everyone, this marks the third (and final) venture into the world of The Journeyman Project. People often asked me what made The Journeyman Project series so fascinating. I can see why you might be confused, I mean there are no zombies, no weapons; there isn't even an online function, so why would I be interested. Well that's precisely why I'm interested in it. They dare to go where few games have gone, a completely non-violent open linear play. It also the first game that actually behaves like one of those big sci-fi budget blockbusters (a la any Michael Bay film) including a casting list. It's more exciting, more mysterious, and more action-packed than the first two. I only ask you guys to keep an open mind at some of the stuff presented in here and just check it out. If you don't like it, then that's your choice. All I'm asking is that you check out something different from what I usually do.

Red Orb Entertainment has, since the distribution of The Journeyman Project 3 (or JP3), been purchased by Mattel Interactive (how sad that a company known for exciting and innovative adventure games been brought out by a children's toy company) which probably partially explains why JP4 is still in limbo. Well, enough of my ramblings, enjoy JP3.


	2. Harrowing Times

Introduction

Date: October 6, 1262 B.C.  
Place: Somewhere in the Mediterranean

The moon was beginning to ease between the Earth and the sun creating a solar eclipse. This mixture of light and shadow provided an eerie background for the shattered cylindrical windmill and the plateau surrounding it.

But that was the last thing on their minds.

"Tra-la-la-la-la, I can't hear you, I'm not listening!"

"If you hadn't infected my suit, we wouldn't be stranded here in this forsaken…"

"I object to the term infected, some of my best friends are viruses! I prefer the term selectively influenced."

At first glance, it would appear to be an unusual sight, a figure in a large silver-colored bulky suit similar to a spacesuit with a 3 on the front panels of the helmet arguing to a disembodied male voice. But as usual, things weren't as they appear to be. The panels parted to reveal a woman's face with short cropped blonde hair and blue eyes. This was Michelle Visard, formerly Agent 3 of the Temporal Security Agency, an organization whose job it was to research and secure history. Born at the end of the twenty-third century, Michelle grew up in a time where three-fourths of the world was devastated after a global war with some dictators who sought nothing less than total world domination. Then when Dr. Elliott Sinclair invented the first time machine, a group of officers were needed to safeguard history from those who would want to sabotage it. Michelle was one of those choices.

History took another leap forward when Earth was invited by an extraterrestrial race called the Cyrollans to join an organization of races called the Symbiotry of Peaceful Beings. Two months ago, she attempted to give the secrets of time travel to another extraterrestrial race called the Krynn, who were also members of the Symbiotry. But before she could carry out her plan, another TSA Agent, Gage Blackwood, discovered what was happening. She was forced to kidnap him and hold him captive in her silo-lair. But Gage sent a virus into Michelle's Jumpsuit that caused her to be spirited away into the time stream.

It felt like a life time ago.

The male voice that she was arguing with was actually the virus that infected her suit. His name was Arthur. Arthur was an artificial intelligence created by Dr. Kenneth Farnstein in his space station Amarax orbiting Saturn. Dr. Farnstein nurtured Arthur like he was his own son (which, in a way, he was), filling him with useful (and not so useful) facts and trivia. When Michelle tried to frame Gage, she did it by time traveling to the year 2289 to the Amarax station and altering something there. When Gage discovered Arthur, the AI found out that he was destined to die. But then he got the idea of downloading a copy of himself into Gage's Jumpsuit. During their attempt to prove Gage innocent of all charges, Arthur and Gage became good friends. When Michelle captured him, Arthur learned the noblest concept known to man: sacrifice. Arthur sacrificed himself for his friend.

"Get the hell out of my suit, you annoying… little… BUG!"

"That's MISTER Annoying-Little-Bug to you, and I would love to leave this rapidly ripening Robby-the-Robot fat suit, Miss Eau Natural, but it appears that we are stuck with each other. Besides, there's nothing stopping you from leaving my suit."

"Actually, Arthur, that's not a bad idea," Michelle said as she pressed a few buttons on her arm panel.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked, then immediately figured out the answer, "Wait a second, you're taking me seriously? You can't do that, you'll be unprotected!"

"Watch me," Michelle said as the suit teleported off of her.

"Don't drink the water!" Those were Arthur's last words before the suit dissolved off of her leaving her in her TSA uniform. Michelle closed the suit's visor and activated the suit's cloaking device. She breathed a sigh of relief at the quietness and looked around. Her temporal beacon and date clock were damaged when Arthur infected her suit and sent them into the time stream so she really had no idea where or when she was. It was a safe bet that she was in the past, so perhaps if she could find out where and in what time period she was, she could get a message to the future for someone to pick her up.

The highest structure she could see was the ruined windmill. A large section of the outer wall had been torn off. Entering the structure, Michelle discovered a spiraling stair case ascending all the way to the top. Michelle started to climb the staircase when a piece of the staircase gave way underneath her. With quick reflexes and agility that surprised even her, Michelle jumped up a few steps. She breathed a sigh of relief once she arrived at a more stable part of the staircase but she soon realized that if she were to jump back down, she would have no way to get back up so it would be best to scope out her surroundings now. Michelle climbed the rest of the stairs and went through a hatch. She appeared to be in some sort of gear room lending more evidence to the theory that she was in some sort of primitive windmill. There was a ladder that led up to what was probably the roof. Michelle climbed it and came out through another hatch.

Michelle made two discoveries: one was that the windmill she was in wasn't the only structure still standing on the island. At the center of a pool of water in the center of the island was a large structure with pillars. The entire island seemed centered around it. In her Ancient Cultures class in college, Michelle learned that several ancient cultures constructed their cities and villages with temples at the center. So it's a safe bet that that was a temple.

A loud humming echoed through the sky. Michelle scanned upward until the source of the humming came into view and she made her second discovery.

"Oh God," she gasped. She knew what that was, but it was impossible! Yet there was no denying it since she was seeing it with her own eyes. Michelle wished at that moment that she had her Jumpsuit with her even if it meant having Arthur along with the package.

* * *

Date: November 10, 2329  
Place: Joint Human-Cyrollan Science Vessel Oracle; Sigma Quadrant

The Oracle's primary mission was to explore anomalies at the edge of Symbiotry territory. But its secondary mission was to monitor the frontier outposts.

On the bridge, a human communication officer reported to his Cyrollan Commander. "Commander, we're receiving a priority message from Frontier Outpost Helm."

"On main screen," the Commander ordered.

"The vessel has ignored all hailing attempts," a frantic voice said over the speakers. At the same time, scans of the area around the outpost appeared. "All electronic systems were disrupted when it arrived, our station is beginning to drift, any Symbiotry ships within this sector, please assist."

"Can we make it there in time?" The Commander asked.

"No, sir, we're too far, scanners indicate there's a large vessel next to the outpost… wait a second… Commander, I'm detecting a huge displacement wave emanating from the space around the vessel."

"Good Lord," the Helm communicator gasped. "There must be hundreds!"

"There are more ships appearing on the boarder," the communication officer reported.

The man on the distress signal screamed. "All systems are shorting out, energy levels are off the…" The transmission abruptly ceased.

Immediately the Oracle went to Alert Status as the communication officer tried desperately to establish a link. "Outpost Helm, this is the Science Vessel Oracle, please respond… Helm, can you hear me? Helm, this is the Science Vessel Oracle, please respond!" As the human went about trying to establish a link, the Cyrollan Commander used his species' ability to analyze the energy emitted by other beings to try to decipher what it was that attacked the outpost. When he got the answer, his gray scaly face turned albino white. He pulled another Cyrollan off to the side and whispered in their native language, "They have returned."

* * *

Presto Studios

In association with

Red Orb Entertainment

Presents

The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

* * *

Date: November 11, 2329  
Place: Temporal Security Annex; Appalachian Mountains, Earth

William Daughton stared painfully as the Jumpsuit rose out of its storage locker, behind him stood a slightly irritated Commissioner Jack Baldwin.

"Remove the power core," Baldwin ordered in his usual raspy voice. Will's look went from the Commissioner to the Jumpsuit. This was the Jumpsuit that cleared Gage's name when he was framed by Michelle. To remove the core just seemed… wrong, somehow.

"But sir," Will protest.

"You have your orders, Daughton!" Baldwin snapped. The young technician started to remove the core from the Jumpsuit.

"Hold it, Will!" A voice called out. William and Baldwin looked up to see Gage Blackwood running up to them.

"Agent Blackwood," Commissioner Baldwin acknowledged. He looked from Will to Gage. "The decree was just handed down from the Earth's World Senate."

"We can't just shut everything down!" Gage argued. "This is insanity; we have a responsibility to safeguard history, Commissioner."

"The responsibility has been revoked," Baldwin returned. "All time travel operations have been suspended. Gage, this comes from higher-up."

"What about Agent 3? She's still out there hiding in the stream and we already know what she's capable of! We can't shut down TSA with her at large!"

"The Agent 3 case has been closed. There's no evidence she survived, we scoured the time stream for a month and turned up nothing. She's gone, Gage!"

"She knows exactly how we coordinate pursuit missions! With her training she could easily be avoiding detection, we're making a tragic mistake, Jack!" Will's eyes widened. Whenever Gage called Commissioner Baldwin by his first name, that meant the Agent meant business.

"I have orders to deliver all Jumpsuit cores to the World Senate. I will appeal there and fight this with all my influence! Until this is settled, I need you to uphold the suspension and take command of the TSA. Can I count on you Gage?"

"Yes, sir," Gage said seething. As Gage left to go to the Command Room, he took a gazing look at the only Jumpsuit locker that was open: the one belonging to Michelle Visard, Agent 3. In red letters sandwiching her name and picture on the identification screen were the words "Restricted" and "Fugitive Alert."

* * *

Date: Same  
Place: Vega Thalon Prison Colony; Titan, Saturn's moon.

A Chaplain sat by a bed in the hospital wing of the prison colony. There, literally on his death bed, laid Dr. Elliott Sinclair.

Sinclair opened his weary eyes and saw the worried look on the priest's face.

"Thomas?"

"Elliott, your fears have been confirmed, the Qou'Thalas have return!"

"No! I… should have told him more… when he came… now my people… my planet… are in terrible danger. Old Friend, I need you to do something for me." Reverend Thomas leaned over and Sinclair whispered something into his ear. Just as Sinclair finished speaking, he collapsed and his lifeline went flat.

The Chaplain closed Sinclair's eyes. "Good-bye, Old Friend, may you find peace at last."

* * *

Date: Same  
Place: TSA; Appalachian Mountains, Earth

Gage's eyes blurred as he continued staring at the view screen, watching his last communication with Arthur for the twentieth time.

"There's one thing I didn't tell you, Gage."

"What?"

"You're going to have to do the rest without me." With a sad chuckle, he said, "I'm the virus."

"Arthur, you can't!"

"Thanks for the adventure I'll see you on the other side." The recording showed violent energies filling the missile silo and engulfed Agent 3. Agent 3 turned to the camera and asked, "What did you do… WHAT DID YOU DO?" Gage stopped the recording as the energies still outlined Agent 3's figure and started to rewind it back to the beginning.

Will walked in and saw Gage was at the same place he has been for the past two hours. "What are you still doing here, Gage?"

"I was hoping to jog some memories of this. It's strange; I don't remember anything about Arthur."

"That's not strange at all, you were mind-wiped. Those synapses, those memories are gone. Those events had to be selectively erased to prevent a temporal distortion wave."

"I know I shouldn't remember him, but… I feel an absence I can't explain. When Agent 3 captured me, Arthur sacrificed himself to save my life. From these recordings, I can see that we endured a lot together. I can't… recall a single moment."

Will empathized the loss with his friend. As Gage started to replay the tape of his final moments with Author, Will noticed a breaking news report on one of the news channels. "Gage, you should take a look at this." Will brought up INN as Mark Johnson, the head anchor, started his report.

"Doctor Elliott Sinclair, the father of time travel, has died at Vega Thalon Prison. It was only ten years ago today that his plot to assassinate the Cyrollan delegate during Earth's induction into the Symbiotry was thwarted by the heroics of Gage Blackwood, Agent 5, of the Temporal Security Agency. Sinclair will be remembered as both the greatest scientist of all time and as the greatest threat to Earth's history…" Gage recalled the moment he captured the xenophobic scientist. At the time, he was ready to shoot the Cyrollan ambassador and blow up everyone. Gage thought back to those days when he was young, almost reckless. In a way, he almost regretted what he did to Dr. Sinclair, using his own technology to stop his crimes and bring him to justice.

Will went over to the main view screen and ran his hand along the cool metal surface, savoring its feel one last time.

Or so he thought.

Suddenly an alarm erupted as the TSA computer announced, "Warning, a temporal rip has been detected!"

"Not now," Gage complained as he joined Will at the main control panel.

"I've pin pointed the rip, origin is the Mediterranean at 1262 B.C. It's caused a… Gage, there's a temporal distortion wave heading towards the present and it's amplifying exponentially!"

Gage clenched his fists. "Agent 3, she finally made her move now that TSA is completely crippled! Will, you have to install a new core for my suit."

"Commissioner Baldwin took all the cores and we don't have time to construct a new one."

"There must be something we can do! What about reactivating the Pegasus Device?"

"That old time machine, not a chance, it's been shelved for years. Gage, we're suspended, we don't have too many options."

"Forget the suspension, Will, that wave will rewrite history if we don't stop it." Will looked away from Gage's piercing glance like he was pondering something. Gage immediately realized, "You're hiding something from me. Damn it, Will! Tell me how to go back while there's still time!"

"There's one… very dangerous possibility. Follow me." Will led Gage into his workshop where a metal tube was at the center. "I'm not supposed to show this to anyone, not even to you, but under the circumstances, here it is." Will pressed a button on a remote and the tube parted. "The Chameleon Jumpsuit." The Jumpsuit that was revealed was vastly different from the original Jumpsuits. It didn't have the bulky spacesuit feel, but rather it was slim, more like armor. It was, as the name suggested, a greenish color. The helmet had no visor, just a small camera lens on the side of the helmet.

"How long have you been keeping this a secret from me?" Gage asked.

"I began working on the prototype about a year ago." That meant that he was working on it even before Michelle framed him. "It utilizes holographic technology allowing the wearer to assume any virtual disguise in its database. It was intended for your Deep Time Research Unit."

"Has someone performed a stream dive with it?"

"You'll be the first, but I suppose that's nothing new. Gage, if you go through with this, Commissioner Baldwin may never grant you another command again or worse…"

"I've got to do this, Will. It's my duty to preserve history, to hell with orders. If Baldwin doesn't like it, then I guess I'll be cell mates with Agent 3 when I get back."

Will was still unconvinced. Was Gage really doing this to preserve history, or was it to get revenge on Agent 3 for capturing him? Or was it something else all together?

Gage sensed Will's doubt. "When I became a TSA Agent, I made a vow to preserve the sanctity and flow of history. I may be disobeying Baldwin's orders, but if it protects history, then so be it." He gave his friend a lop-sided smile. "Besides, it's not like it'll be the first time."

Will sighed. "All right, here it goes." Will pressed another button on his remote and the Chameleon Jumpsuit disappeared and reappeared with Gage in it. The monitor clicked on and Gage could see Will. "Gage, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, audio and visuals are working fine."

"Good, unfortunately there's no time to perform a full diagnostic on the Chameleon System, but you should have the coordinates stored in your Jumpsuit's memory bank. Most of the commands are voice-activated and temporal jump is initiated by the coordinates and the activation code 'time jump.'"

"Hopefully, I won't need to use the Chameleon System just yet."

William let out a sigh for the umpteenth time. "That's all I can do for you, Gage, the rest is up to you. Good luck, buddy."

"Thanks, Will. Computer, set coordinates for the Mediterranean Sea, 1262 B.C., Time Jump." Gage disappeared in a flash of blue light, different from the purple distortion waves of the old Jumpsuits.

* * *

Date: October 6, 1262 B.C.  
Place: Island in the Mediterranean Sea

Gage materialized on a piece of driftwood near shore. Taking a look around, Gage saw that the sky seemed light and ark at the same time. There were no signs of life. A damaged windmill lurked in the distance. Gage saw an overturned boat in the middle of the water.

_What happened here, _Gage wondered. Gage stepped onto the shore and up a short hill. As he crossed a path in front of the windmill, he bumped into something.

Something that wasn't there.

"What the…" A Jumpsuit decloaked in front of him. The number on the helmet was '3'.

"Agent 3, you're under arrest for eluding arrest, historical sabotage, and framing," Gage said. Nothing answered back. Gage lifted the arm of the suit but couldn't feel anything inside. He pressed the button on the glove and opened the visor.

There was nobody inside. "It's empty," Gage realized.

A new voice startled Gage, "Gage, remember the smooth sultry voice?"

"What was that?"

"It's me, Arthur!"

"Huh?"

"The Robin to your Batman, the Jekyll to your… Heckle the… thing… to your… thing." Gage reflexively took a step back. "Why the long face, you remember me, right, dimples!" Gage was speechless. "Hmmm… from your blank stare, I can see that you don't, oh well, I'm not hurt. But if you don't mind, I think I'll transfer into your suit and make myself at home. Oh, by the way, I have a message from your girlfriend."

"Huh, who?"

"You know, Miss Joy."

"Agent 3?"

"Bingo, boyo, she left it for whoever found the suit." Gage watched as the Translator Biochip in the lower-right corner of his view became a little head, which then disappeared to form the image of a woman with cropped blonde hair and blue eyes. No doubt about it, it was definitely Michelle Visard, Agent 3.

"I am Michelle Visard, also known as Agent 3. If you are receiving this message, it means that the TSA has spotted the distortion wave and have sent you back to stop it. My Jumpsuit's the cause of the distortion wave. Once Arthur sends it to the TSA, the crisis will be over. I know everyone thinks I'm a traitor, and I know I can't change that, but I have discovered something so incredible that I'm willing to turn myself in. But I can't risk being imprisoned before my discovery is investigated. So, you will follow my trail and see what I've seen. I have hidden three pieces of a time code that will lead you right to me. The first code piece is hidden in this environment, not far from here. Arthur has the coordinates for the other two. You'll soon realize why I placed them where I did. In two of the environments you will need to go to the highest vantage point, but in the other go to the lowest. I implore you, keep your eyes and your mind open, and remember that your first duty is to history." Gage almost recoiled; to be lectured about duty by a rogue was probably the worse type of insult an agent could get.

"Gage, I've got good news and I've got bad news," Arthur said. "The good news is I know why you don't know me, the bad news is you were mind wiped." As Arthur explained, the Jumpsuit's visor closed and the Jumpsuit disappeared, heading back to the TSA. "Two months ago, you jumped back nine years to get your past self to help save your neck in the future. You discovered me on an abandoned space station and saved me by letting me download a copy of myself onto a blank Biochip. Together, we traveled through four time zones to stop Agent 3's plot to frame you. When she captured us, I turned myself into a virus and infected her Jumpsuit sending us both into the time stream. We pretty much been hopping around the space time continuum ever since. Once your name was clear, the TSA sent the past you back to your own time with no memory of the adventure so you don't remember me. But we're back now and together we'll find Agent 3 and bring her back alive! This'll be more exciting than a pair of pants full of geckos!"

"What?"

"Never mind, let's get to it! By the way, I took the liberty of moving into the Translator Biochip so I'll be your universal translator now. The new coordinates are already in your jump menu. Lead on, Gage."

"Okay, Arthur, what can you tell me about this island?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. According to history, this uncharted island never existed. However, we are relatively close to Thera, an island that erupted in a huge volcanic eruption a few hundred years ago. The crater that was left became the island of San Terrine."

"Elaborate," Gage requested.

"The destruction of Thera had far-reaching consequences. From about 1950 to 1450 B.C., volcanic ash from 70 miles away covered Crete while tidal waves flooded the island cities wiping out the great Minoan nation. It was later proposed by archaeologists that the lost continent of Atlantis could've shared the same fate."

"Arthur, you don't think this is Atlantis, do you?"

"I doubt it, we're nearly a century from when history recorded Atlantis' end, but then again, nobody has ever really been able to locate Atlantis so that's up in the air." Gage walked past the windmill and down a flight of steps. From there, he jumped across a set of stones and up to a black concrete platform.

"Looks like we won't be able to get anywhere here," Gage commented.

"Gage, eleven o'clock!" Gage looked slightly to his left and saw a little boat heading away from the island.

"That derelict boat seems to be in a hurry to leave the island," Gage commented.

"Derelict my eye, there's someone on that boat," Arthur pointed out.

"Incredible! Computer, activate telescanners!" The telescanners zoomed in on a man in the boat. He looked familiar; the man had short dark hair that showed signs of balding, blue eyes, and a moustache. The man turned and stared back at the island with a depressed look.

"He looks familiar. Call me time-space happy, but I swear that's Dr. Elliott Sinclair, the scientist who invented time travel, the guy you put away for ten to twenty at Vega Thalon. He could be Sinclair's distant cousin, and you know what that means, baldness is hereditary."

"Computer, record image of the man on the boat and compare it with most recent picture of Elliott Sinclair with match probability."

The probability came out to 97 with a 3 margin of error.

"Perhaps Sinclair came here as part of some early time traveling experiments," Gage said but didn't really believe it. He exited the telescanners and looked around on the ground. He noticed a rope ladder laying on his left. He picked it up. "If we're going to get to the highest vantage point, we're going to need something to get us to the top." He placed the rope ladder in his Jumpsuit's temporal pocket. He then retraced his steps to the windmill. "Arthur, take a look at this," Gage said. "This building wasn't dilapidated from natural erosion."

"Yeah, I would say that it looks freshly smashed."

"But who would have it in for a windmill?"

"Don Quixote?"

"Very funny." Gage entered the windmill. The central shaft was the only thing that still looked intact. The steps have broken to the point where even jumping seemed out of the question. "If we could get to the roof, we could have a decent view of this entire island. But I don't see any way to get up other than those broken stairs."

"Hmmm… maybe if I throw your legs over that bottom step and climb up your spine… God, I wish I had a body."

"I have a better idea," Gage said removing the rope ladder from his temporal pocket. He threw it over the step and climbed up onto the stair case. No sooner had he done that then the step the rope was lassoed around broke off and Gage's only way up fell to the ground.

"Oops, clean up, aisle two," Arthur cracked.

"Looks like there's no way to go but up," Gage said as he climbed the staircase that encircled what was left of the windmill. Half way up; he stopped and looked at a group of shafts at the center. "Arthur, what can you tell me about this?"

"The technology that drives this windmill is at least two centuries before its time. From what I can tell, power generated by the central shaft gets transferred to that diagonal shaft leading me to believe that this windmill is actually a wind pump designed to move water. Why, I don't know."

Gage climbed the stairs and came to a trap door above him. Gage opened it up and climbed through. Gears were strewn about all over the place. There were two holes, one looked like a doorway and the other was simply a gaping hole that stretched all the way down to ground level. _This looks like it was some sort of control room for the windmill, _Gage thought. "The time code isn't here, we must need to go higher." Gage looked up and saw another trap door. There was ladder on the ground. Gage picked it up and leaned it against a wooden panel on the wall. He climbed the ladder and through the second trap door onto the roof.

Emerging onto the roof, Gage saw the remains of a city.

"This island hasn't been deserted, it's been attacked," Arthur realized. "Something destroyed the city's sea walls and flooded it."

"This must be what Michelle wanted us to see," Gage figured. "But why did she want us to see it? Did she do this herself?"

"As much as I dislike Agent 3, Gage, I don't think she alone could do this much damage even with her Jumpsuit."

"Then what…" Gage looked down and saw three interlocking circles along with a set of numbers and letters written in dirt. The interlocking circles were the TSA logo. "That must be Michelle's time code. Computer, zoom-in and record the time code." The Chameleon Jumpsuit zoomed in on the dirt and copied it just as the wind swept away the dirt. "Well, that's it, one down and two to go."

"Hey, Gage, look, a solar eclipse." Gage looked up and saw that the sun and the moon were coming into perfect alignment. Suddenly a strange ship hovered across the sky. It was x-shaped with a circle at the center. Although it's a few thousand years early; Gage and Arthur immediately recognized it.

"A Cyrollan ship!" They both cried out. The Cyrollan ship hovered over a building at the center of the island. It fired an energy blast which destroyed it.

As the explosion rushed towards him, Gage called out, "Arthur, get us out of here!" Gage disappeared just as the explosion decimated what was left of the windmill.

* * *

Gage landed in a weird anomaly of energy.

"That Cyrollan ship completely leveled that building," Arthur said. "But the Cyrollans are supposed to be the good guys, the founders of the Symbiotry! Why would our allies attack?"

"I don't know, Arthur, but we can't worry about that now, we need to concentrate on finding Agent 3. Check out the time code."

"Right." For a minute, Arthur was silent then he said, "The time code you found is one-third of a temporal coordinate. With the other two pieces, I can triangulate Agent 3's location."

Just then Arthur's head disappeared and was replaced by Agent 3's. "Well, you found one of the codes; I assume I have your interest piqued. Go to the other two environments, there's still much more to see." Gage figured that the message was triggered by the time code.

Gage finally took a look at his surroundings. He was in some weird anomaly. "Arthur, where are we?"

"We're in a Null Time Pocket, Gage. If this place was a verb, it would be regurgitate. Agent 3 and I discovered it when we were first thrown into the time stream. Not a terribly exciting place to honeymoon, but I figured it was safer than where we just were."

"Good call," Gage congratulated. "Computer, pull up coordinates for the other two time zones." Two sets of coordinates appeared on Gage's screen. "Computer, set coordinates for Andes Mountains, 524 A.D. and time jump."

"Oh yeah," Arthur cheered. "Agent 3, here we come!" Gage vanished from the null time pocket.

* * *

Main Cast

Gage Blackwood, Agent 5: Jerry Rector

Michelle Visard, Agent 3: Michele Scarabelli

Arthur: Matt Weinhold

Elliott Sinclair: Graham Jarvis

William Daughton: David Fenner

Comm. Jack Baldwin: Daniel Mann

Mark Johnson: Ray Uhler

Chaplain: King Stuart

Cyrollan Commander: Victor Navone

Distress Message: Phil Saunders

Human Oracle Officer: Scott Benefiel.


	3. Time for Reunions

The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

_Gage Blackwood has discovered that Michelle Visard, the rogue Agent 3, is still alive and hiding in the time stream. But with TSA shutting down, he had no way of going back in time to get her, that is until William Daughton showed him the Chameleon Jumpsuit, capable of capturing the image of any person native to a time zone._

_Reunited with Arthur, his artificial intelligence companion, Gage investigated an uncharted island that turned out to be a target for a Cyrollan ship! Now Gage and Arthur have three mysteries: where's Agent 3, why were the Cyrollans attacking Earth, and what was Dr. Sinclair doing in the year 1262 B.C.? The only way they could find out is by discovering the other two pieces to Michelle's time code.

* * *

_

Date: January 29, 524 A.D.  
Place: Andes Mountains, Peru

Gage materialized in a hole. Actually it was a well, an empty well.

"Either Agent 3 sent us to languish in a deep well or we shrank into your turtleneck," Arthur cracked.

"I think it is a well," Gage said looking up at the opening.

"Well if it is, then one of my wishes is to be in a bigger well."

"We need to find some way to get out of here." Gage tried climbing up but he couldn't get a grip. "Well that idea's shot."

"Why don't you just use your boot jets?" Arthur suggested.

"I don't have any boot jets."

"Well then fire a grappling hook."

"Don't have one of those either."

"Metal spikes in your gloves?"

"Sorry."

"Don't you at least have a white flag you could wave around to announce to someone that we're here?"

"Nope."

"Jeez, what kind of high-tech battle suit is this?"

"A prototype research suit."

"Ah, well, that explains it."

Gage looked around at the bottom of the well. The well's diameter was barely big enough to fit him. A barrel lay in between his feet and under it a drain could be seen. Gage could hear the faint sound of water on the other side of the well.

"Gage, see that stone lever against the wall? Well when you pull it, the slab should cover the drain allowing water to rush through and fill the well… or with our luck, it will unleash the well-dwelling piranhas." Gage tried pulling on the lever but it wouldn't move. "There is a rock blocking the slab from covering the drain," Arthur announced. "Remove it and ye shall be king… wait a minute, I'm Arthur. Remove it, and it won't block the drain any more." Gage moved the rock and placed it on the side. "Gage, a small piece of advice: don't pull the lever with your mouth open." Gage pulled the lever again. The slab opened and fell over the drain. Water began gushing out and the well began filling up. Gage grabbed on to the bucket and rode it to the top of the well. "Next time we vacation in the past, I'll bring my swim trunks," Arthur cracked. "So what's next, bungee jumping off the pyramids, bull leaping in Crete?"

"Look on the bright side," Gage said as he climbed out, "Better floating than drowning."

Looking around, Gage discovered that he was on a mountain plateau which was scorched. Smoke could be seen erupting from the valley. Blast fire could be heard as well.

"Did you hear that?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, sounds like there's some sort of commotion going on in the distance. Let's check it out."

"Be careful, I don't think sixth century South Americans would be all that thrilled to see a guy in green."

Gage walked up a path. At a fork, he veered left and went up a hill. "Arthur, tell me what you think of this." They came to a destroyed farmhouse.

"From what I can tell of the remains, the former culture was very advanced and judging from the shape of this plateau, they mastered terrace farming techniques… though they probably should've put more time into the fire department."

"Hmmm… a Mediterranean and Pre-Columbian culture, both with technology that's way before their time, both destroyed, possibly by an alien race."

"Gage, I've come to two conclusions," Arthur said. "One: Diet Dr. Pepper does taste like regular Dr. Pepper, and two: we're not dealing with your garden variety ancient cultures, we might be dealing with mythic civilizations. According to some ancient texts, the fabled city of El Dorado was said to be somewhere in South America. This might be it."

"If that's true, then the one we visited before might be Atlantis."

"Just something else we can squeeze from Agent 3's… uh… head when we find her."

Gage went back down the hill and took the other path, coming out onto a landing. Two balloons could be seen. One had no basket and the crank that was used to pull the balloon to the landing was missing. The other had a basket but the entire wench mechanism was damaged beyond repair.

"For once, I'm at a lost for words," Arthur said. "I can't think of a reason why those piñatas are here."

"Arthur," Gage said warily.

"Sorry. Seriously, though, Pre-Columbian South American cultures were never really known to be avid balloonists… then again, according to my knowledge of this time period, there is no record for this civilization."

"Agent 3 said that two of the codes would be at high vantage points," Gage said more to himself than to Arthur. "My guess is she probably hid it in one of those balloons."

"So how are we going to get up there, genius? If we're going ballooning, I don't want to hang off of it like some deranged Bond villain."

"I have an idea," Gage said. Gage went back to the farmhouse and found a sturdy basket. He put that in his Jumpsuit's temporal pocket. He then went to the well and removed the bucket crank. Placing that in his temporal pocket as well, Gage returned to the balloon landing. He connected the bucket crank to the mechanism and used it to pull the lower balloon down to his level. He then attached the basket to the balloon.

"Definitely not the prettiest of balloons," Arthur critiqued. "But it definitely… maybe… should fly (who am I kidding, this baby's going down). Uh… why don't you go up first, Gage, and I'll… go find a shovel and dig your early grave."

"Very funny, wise guy, but we both go and nobody goes." Gage took a pebble and climbed into the balloon. He then flicked the pebble which knocked the bucket crank off the mechanism. Immediately, the balloon was raised back to its original level.

"You know, Gage, being about a hundred feet up in a hastily constructed, barely navigable flying balloon, and knowing you ever had a flying lesson, really puts things in perspective, Gage."

"It does?"

"Yeah, I found that being hundreds of feet in the air make me… twice as frightened!"

Gage rolled his eyes and looked around. He didn't see anything that looked like a time code. Gage looked across at the other balloon. Did Agent 3 expect him to reach the next balloon? Gage looked over the side and saw a rope with a hook dangling off the side. He pulled it up and threw it to the other balloon. Gage was able to drag the two balloons until they were about twelve feet from each other. From there, he decided to take a leap of faith… literally. He jumped from one balloon to the other. He fell short of the required length and would've fallen to his doom had he not held on to the gondola of the balloon he was jumping towards. Summoning up all his strength, Gage pulled himself into the balloon.

After getting his breath back, he looked around and spotted the time code written on the inside of the gondola. "Computer, zoom-in and record time code." The Jumpsuit complied with Gage's commands. "There, just one more to…"

Suddenly the balloon Gage rode up on was destroyed by an energy blast. Gage activated his scanners and looked around. He spotted two ships exchanging laser fire over the pyramid-like structure. "Computer, analyze and identify." The computer identified one of the ships as a Cyrollan ship but came up blank on the other one. One of the strange ships fired an energy blast straight towards Gage.

Once again, Gage was thrown into a null time pocket.

"There were two different alien groups fighting over that city," Gage commented.

"Yeah, I recognized the Cyrollans' ship but I have no idea who those other vessels belonged to."

"Maybe Agent 3 can explain some more when we find her," Gage said. "Arthur, analyze the time code."

You betcha, lets see… looks like she's pretty far. How can I put it into terms you would understand? You know how long it takes to find humor in a Gallagher show?"

"So?"

"Well in time-space terms, she's 1,000 Gallagher shows away. That third piece is essential to the coordinates; we need it if we're going to have any chance to find her."

Once again, Agent 3's face appeared on Gage's view screen. "Excellent, by now you're beginning to understand the importance of my discovery. Go to the last environment the final piece will lead you right to my position." Gage ordered a time jump to the final location.

* * *

Date: April 15, 1219 A.D.  
Place: Himalayan Mountains; Central Asia

Gage materialized outside a building that was torn open by an avalanche. A large ravine was right in front of him with a large Asian building half-buried in snow.

Arthur shivered, "Did we just land on Agent 3's shoulder?"

"Arthur, don't you get tired of putting down Agent 3 like that?"

"No."

Gage looked around, "From the look of things, we just missed the avalanche that tore through this building."

"Would it be improper for an artificial intelligence to go sledding?" Arthur asked.

"Yes."

"Just one hill, Gage, come on, it's the Himalayas!"

"Precisely why you can't."

"You know, if we invent the toboggan centuries before its time, we can sell them to local Tibetans and be gazillionares in the future."

"Arthur, that's abusing time travel."

"Oh I suppose you want to save the world. What about my needs?"

Gage decided to drop this subject and went to the edge. Agent 3 said that two of the codes would be at high vantage points and one would be at a low vantage point. And as Arthur so eloquently put it, "You don't get lower than that ravine unless you start worshiping Michael Jackson as a cult god." A bridge was dangling off the side of the ravine. Gage began climbing down. "Good thinking, Gage, we'll just climb down into the ravine, then maybe find a nice hotel, and eat a light dinner and… WHOA, WHOA, YIIII!" Suddenly Gage found himself dangling off the bridge. He quickly climbed back up. "Whew, Gage, give me a warning next time you try to kill your self."

"Sorry." Gage went back up the snow drift.

"You see the bridge dangling off the side of the cliff?"

"I do now."

"Before the avalanche, this place must've been used to extend the bridge to the other side of the ravine. Why can't we go to a time period where something works? I mean the stairs in the windmill, the balloon, and now the bridge. I tell you, Gage, this is getting ridiculous." Gage returned to the spot where he first appeared. This time, he went down a hill on the side of the former gatehouse. He tripped and fell over a wheel control.

"This thing must've controlled something in the gatehouse before this place was smashed," Gage said. He picked up the wheel and placed it inside his temporal pocket.

His heel touched something fleshy. Gage looked down to see that he was right in front of a dead man. "My God, he's dead!"

"Looks like the destruction caused by this avalanche is completed," Arthur said solemnly. "I doubt they were any survivors." Gage saw a staff lying next to the dead man. He picked it up and placed that in his inventory as well.

"Arthur, give me some options on how to get down there."

"Okay, option one: you can swan-dive off this cliff and fall at an accelerated rate of 9.8 meters per second square, or option two: we can figure out a way to extend the bridge to reach the ravine floor."

"I'll take the second option," Gage said going back inside the gatehouse. He searched the upper levels until he found a set of gears standing on the side. Gage attached the wheel to the gears and turned the wheel until he could turn it no more. After making sure the bridge was low enough, he started to climb down. He ran out of bridge about ten feet from the bottom so he decided to jump the rest of the way.

"Ow," Arthur winced. "I think I was sitting on my keys."

"Arthur, what do you make of this building?" Gage asked.

"From its remains, I can tell that it was once a Tibetan Monastery. Obviously, it's been knocked into the ravine by the avalanche."

"What a terrible loss to humanity," Gage mourned. "All this culture and architecture… destroyed, and by our own allies no less."

"Yup, we definitely got the short end of the stick," Arthur agreed. Gage went up to the monastery and looked around for a door. When that failed, he sought out a window. "Your old hard life of crime just might pay now. We could get into this building if we break through the window. The beauty of my plan is that breaking and entering isn't even illegal yet."

Gage went up to a window and tried to push it open but it wouldn't budge. "It must be frozen shut." Gage removed the dead man's staff from his temporal pocket and used it to pry the window open.

The inside of the monastery was no better than the outside. A Buddha statue was half-buried in snow. Columns were toppled over, banners barely hanging on their hinges.

"Arthur, if this is a mythic civilization too, which one would it be?" Gage asked.

"Well if we were in the Magic Kingdom, this would be Tragedy Land," Arthur replied. "But considering we're not… a lot of ancient literature classified Shangri-La in the Himalayans. And going on our past record, it isn't hard to deduce who might've had a hand in destroying it." Gage was silent. "Here's a hint, Gage: it wasn't Mike Nelson."

Gage did a quick scan of the room. "The time code must be around here somewhere."

"Agent 3 must've written it in something that would be erasable so that nobody besides you would find it. She probably wrote it in the snow." Gage explored the room before going up to the huge Buddha statue. "I never thought I would ever see a head bigger than mine, but there it is. Climb up on Buddha's huge cranium so we can see what's on the other side."

Gage climbed up onto the Buddha's shoulders then used the frame of the wall to bring himself onto the Buddha's head. Looking around, he spotted the time code written, as he suspected, in the snow. Gage had the Jumpsuit's computers zoom in and recorded it before he erased it ensuring the sanctity of the time line.

Suddenly an alarm went off. The telescanners were detecting life forms nearby. "Intruders," Gage realized. "Computer, locate position and identify intruders." The telescanners zoomed in on a temple that was also devastated. Two figures came into view. Even before the Jumpsuit identified them, Gage knew who, or rather what, they were.

"Uh-oh, Cyrollans," Arthus said hushed. "They look like they mean business."

"They look like they're searching for something," Gage said. "But what are they searching for, and why here?" One of the Cyrollans pointed in Gage's direction. "They've seen us." The other Cyrollan fired an electrified orb. Gage read about those weapons once, they were designed to stun and mind-wipe the target so they would have no recollection of seeing extraterrestrials.

"Gage, if we don't get out of here, they'll finish us off in a split second," Arthur said. Gage leapt down from the Buddha and ran across the hall but the orb was following his Jumpsuit's heat trail.

"Time Jump!" Gage cried. Just as the orb was about to strike, Gage time jumped out.

Once again, Gage was inside a null time pocket. It was touch and go, but they finally got all pieces of Michelle's time code.

"Computing her position now," Arthur said. "We've got her! According to these coordinates, Agent 3 is hiding approximately fourteen days before your present time on a different planet, possibly Jupiter or Saturn."

"But Jupiter and Saturn have no habitable atmosphere, unless she's hiding near them, like on Titan."

"The Vega Thalon Prison Colony!"

"Right, Arthur, set the coordinates and let's go get her!"

As Arthur set up the coordinates, Agent 3's face appeared once again. "Now you know that aliens destroyed Atlantis, Shangri-La and El Dorado, imagine how history would've been different if those cities were spared. The TSA must know of our discovery! With the final piece, you should have the coordinates for my position, I will be waiting."

"I have her position now, prepare for anything, Gage." As Gage left the null time pocket, he pondered the overall situation. Three mythical civilizations were destroyed by the same extraterrestrial race who claimed they came in the name of peace. But who were the Cyrollans fighting? Why were they fighting? Was that really Dr. Sinclair leaving the ruins of Atlantis? Gage thought he better deal with one mystery at a time, starting with what would he find when he arrives at Agent 3's location?

* * *

Date: October 28, 2329  
Place: Vega Thalon Prison Colony, Titan

As the Chameleon Jumpsuit materialized in the hospital wing, Agent 3 was a little shocked. She expected the large bulky silver Jumpsuits of the Temporal Protectorate, not this strange, almost dwarfish, green Jumpsuit; she also didn't expect to see the logo on the shoulder. _The Deep Time Unit, why would the TSA send someone from there? _The back panels on the helmet were raised enabling Gage to remove the helmet. Agent 3 almost jumped out of her clothes. "Gage, I didn't think the TSA would send you." Gage started to walk purposefully to her. Agent 3 fearfully took a step back. "How could you ignore what I've shown you, think of your duty to history," she pleaded.

"What would you know about duty?" Gage retorted grabbing her wrist. "Agent 3, you're coming with me now."

"Wait," Michelle said shrugging off his vice grip. "Before you arrest me, there's someone here who may convince you further." Michelle turned to one of the beds. Gage followed her glance and saw Dr. Elliott Sinclair.

Dr. Sinclair opened his eyes and saw Gage. "It's you! Why do you plague me… in my final moments," he said bitterly. "You… took away my lab… my life!"

"Dr. Sinclair, I saw you in the past, fleeing the destruction of Atlantis, what were you doing there?"

"Atlantis, you saw its destruction?" Gage nodded. "Then you know that… the most beautiful city in history was destroyed by… our benevolent protectors."

"Yes, I saw it all, Elliott, but why would the Cyrollans attack, they're our allies!"

"They were… unrelenting," Elliott stammered. "They spared nothing… nobody… when they returned ten years ago, I tried to warn Earth… but nobody would listen… and I was imprisoned… by you… for my foresight."

"I need to know more," Gage pleaded. "Who were the Cyrollans fighting?"

Sinclair was lost in his delusional state. "Long ago, I believed in higher powers… I took it as my purpose to heal and shepherd the world… but the world turned its back on me. And this is my reward for a lifetime of faith." He looked at Gage sternly, but weakly. "Goodbye, Agent Blackwood." He pressed a call button.

"Elliott!" But if the scientist heard him, he didn't responded. Michelle looked at Gage with a look that said that they needed to get out of there fast. Even she didn't want a temporal ripple so close to the present. Gage spotted her look and re-donned his helmet. Then with Agent 3 in tow, jumped back to the present just as a nurse walked in, unaware that they had even been there.

* * *

Date: November 11, 2329  
Place: TSA; Appalachian Mountains, Earth

"CAN'T ANYONE AROUND HERE FOLLOW ORDERS?" Commissioner Baldwin ranted. "William, the Chameleon Prototype was top secret! You're in this just as deep as Gage is!"

Will nodded, it wasn't easy being the brunt of the Commissioner's rage, and he was more than a little outraged when he discovered what Gage… and William himself did. And being yelled at by your boss in front of a party of Cyrollans certainly didn't help matters.

The doors to the Command Room opened and Gage and Michelle walked in. The assembled humans and Cyrollans turned to look at them. Commissioner Baldwin walked up to Michelle and scowled.

"So you are alive," he said seething. "You can't imagine the trouble you've caused us. Lock her up!" A guard standing by the door took hold of Agent 3 and started to lead her away. Baldwin then turned to Gage, "I should throw you in with Agent 3 for insubordination but the truth is I need you. We're in the middle of a crisis, the Brega Quadrant was attacked only hours ago!"

Gage gasped. "There hasn't been an attack on the Symbiotry in decades, do we know who?"

Baldwin turned to the main view screen which showed a map of Symbiotry space with a red line moving towards Earth. On the right was an image of the unknown ship.

Except that Gage recognized it.

"We haven't been able to identify them," Baldwin explained. "They smashed through our frontier outposts; they're on an intercept course for Earth. The Cyrollans have cautioned us to ready our planetary defenses and are here to offer their support and council."

A tall, purple, female Cyrollan walked up to them. "Gage Blackwood, I am Jhessela, the Cyrollan Ambassador to Earth," she greeted. "In this time of crisis, we have come to ask you for…"

"Those same ships have been on Earth before; they were fighting your people, Ambassador!" Michelle had squirmed away from the guard and was now pointing to the ship. "Gage, tell them what you saw!" She called to Gage.

"What the hell is she still doing here? Get her out of my sight now!" Baldwin snapped. The guard grabbed her again and all but dragged her out of the room.

"Agent 3 is right," Gage acknowledged. "While I was in the past, I saw a craft similar to that battling Cyrollan ships." He turned to the Ambassador. "I was at Atlantis, Ambassador. I know what your race did."

Baldwin's breath stopped, now even his best agent was turning on the Cyrollans. "What the hell are you talking about, Gage?"

"Be calm, Commissioner Baldwin," Jhessela intervened. "My government has never permitted me to admit this, but considering the circumstances… in your distant past, we defended your planet against a savage race, the Qou'Thalas. When my race was young, an elder race called the Sosiqui had already past. They left only whispered legends of their Legacy, a relic containing their vast knowledge.

"A trail of legends led us to Earth and it was at Atlantis that we met the Qou'Thalas. Peace failed. We both fought with a frightening passion for our birthright. When one of the Qou'Thalas ships landed near the temple of the city you call Atlantis, we had no choice but to destroy the city. We still believed that action saved your world, and many others."

"Your quest for the Legacy has resulted in the destruction of three civilizations from our history," Gage accused.

"The Qou'Thalas were butchers!" One of Jhessela's aides snapped. "We saved your Earth from eternal enslavement!" Jhessela turned to the aide and said something in the Cyrollans' native language. The aide almost looked shocked and embarrassed. He took a step back.

Jhessela continued her story, "After the destruction of Atlantis, we battled the Qou'Thalas for centuries. Twice more in your history, the Legacy's influence surfaced in the form of two highly-advanced human cultures. Sadly, each of the cities was destroyed in brutal battle.

"After the third city, we managed to chase the Qou'Thalas into the outer regions of space. We thought they were gone forever."

"Commissioner, I'm receiving a message from deep space," William called. Gage, Baldwin, and Jhessela turned to the view screen. An image of a large, brutish-looking alien with multiple legs and scaly hides appeared.

"Earth," they said in a deep voice. "You will turn over the Legacy and time travel technology, the birthright of the Qou'Thalas. If you do not, there will be dire consequences!" The transmission ended.

"As you can see, the situation is grim," Jhessela pointed out. "The Symbiotry Defense Fleet is scattered and the Qou'Thalas are more powerful than the Nu'Karis or the Krynn. That is why we came here. With the Legacy, we might be able to crush the Qou'Thalas once and for all. If not, the Symbiotry might not be able to protect Earth this time."

"You need us for our time travel technology," Baldwin realized. "You want us to go back in time before the destruction to search for this Legacy."

Gage couldn't believe what he was hearing. The TSA had three main directives: never leave anything in a time zone that came from another time zone, never take anything of historical significance, and most importantly, never converse with anyone from that time period. But the Cyrollans wanted them to break those directives if they wanted to save Earth. _Well, I'm already in deep, might as well go all the way. _"Let me go back, Commissioner. I've been to the cities, I know their layouts. I can search for the Legacy. At the very least, it will give the Earth a bargaining chip with the Qou'Thalas."

"Doesn't look like we have much of a choice," Baldwin said. He turned to the Ambassador. "But this will happen our way, Ambassador; this will be an Earth investigation only. The Earth government will be made aware of everything you have disclosed."

"My government should not have kept this from you for so long," Jhessela said remorseful. "I hope this will not hurt the kinship between Cyrol and Earth."

"Very well, Gage, I'm sending you on a mission to search for this Legacy." From the tone of his voice, it looked like Gage would have full reign over this investigation.

Gage turned to Daughton and handed the boy his helmet. "William, program three jump coordinates to each of the three time zones approximately one day before they'll be destroyed."

"They should be uploaded into your suit in a moment," William replied.

"How will I know the Legacy when I see it?" Gage asked Jhessela.

"All of the Cyrollan legends describing the Legacy are vague at best." Jhessela held up a mini holographic projector. On it, a pyramid object with a unique symbol appeared. The symbol looked like three sets of claws all grasping for the same triangle. "This pendant is an ancient Sosiqui relic that our archaeologists found on another planet. We believe the symbol is a Sosiqui marking that represents their Legacy. The true Legacy might also bare this mark. Good fortune, Agent Blackwood."

"Thank you, Ambassador."

"Gage," Will called as Gage was getting ready to leave. "I also fine-tuned the Chameleon Jumpsuit's disguise technology. Now you should be able to capture a native's disguise."

"Thanks, Will," Gage said. He left the command room and donned his helmet.

"All right, Gage, our mission is to find the Sosiqui Legacy," Arthur said. "The new jump coordinates are in your menu. Choose one and we'll be on our way."

"Right, Arthur. Computer, set coordinates for Atlantis, October 5th, 1262 B.C. Initiate Time Jump!"

And so, Gage departed on the most vital mission of his life.

* * *

Main Cast

Gage Blackwood, Agent 5: Jerry Rector

Michelle Visard, Agent 3: Michele Scarabelli

Arthur: Matt Weinhold

Elliott Sinclair: Graham Jarvis

William Daughton: David Fenner

Comm. Jack Baldwin: Daniel Mann

Jhessela: Connie Terwillinger

Qou'Thalas/TSA Guard: Eric Dallaire

Cyrollan Attendant: Phil Saunders

Nurse: Susan Sattler


	4. Time for Celebration

The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

_Gage discovered Agent 3 hiding two weeks from his present at the Vega Thalon Prison Colony. When he went to apprehend her, she showed him a bitter and faithless Dr. Elliott Sinclair who confirmed that it was the Cyrollans who destroyed Atlantis._

_When Gage and Michelle returned to the present, they are met by Commissioner Baldwin who immediately has Agent 3 taken away. He then tells Gage that a fleet of powerful ships are making a direct line for Earth. Jhessela, the Cyrollan Ambassador, explained that the Qou'Thalas, an ancient enemy of the Cyrollans, are on their way to steal Earth's time traveling technology as well as the Legacy, a relic containing the knowledge and experience of the Sosiqui, a race that were mysteriously wiped out centuries before recorded history. Gage volunteered to retrieve the Legacy by jumping back in time to one day before the cities are going to be destroyed. Now he's on his way to Atlantis, and hopefully, the temple where the Legacy is hidden.

* * *

_

Date: October 5th, 1262 B.C.  
Place: Atlantis; Mediterranean Sea

Gage materialized on the top of the same windmill where he saw the Cyrollan ship. The intact city reminded Gage of Venice complete with canals and locks. The Greek-looking building was also intact. It was surrounded by a lake that was somehow elevated from the rest of the city.

"Look to the center of the city, Gage," Arthur instructed. "That's the intact temple that the Cyrollans obliterated into flaky temple dandruff. The rest of the city revolves around it like it dominated every aspect of their civilization." Exploring the roof, Gage noticed that one of the windmill's spars was missing a sail. Arthur just kept commenting about Atlantis' beauty. "The inhabitants of this city were ingenious! Look at the series of concentric sea walls. It looks like they built a canal and lock system to control the water level within the city. They drained out the crater to expose more usable land. But if they're reclaiming land, why do they keep the water level high in the center? Oh well, we have a lot of ground to cover so if we get stuck, we can always time jump to another location. Don't worry, I'll log the precise coordinates so when we choose to return, we'll hand precisely on the spot where we left."

Gage went down into the windmill through the trap door. He was now inside the Windmill's gear room. A large pillar surrounded by gears was at the center. A doorway led onto the Windmill's spars. Another trap door led down into the living quarters of the Windmill. "Looks like the only exit," Arthur observed. "Unless you want to jump out the window." Gage started to descend the spiraling staircase until Arthur halted his progress three-fourths of the way down. Down in the living quarters was a man sewing a windmill sail. "That must be the Keeper of the Windmill. Since you don't have any Atlantian guises in your Chameleon Database, it might be wise to meet him later. Let's find another way out."

"Good idea," Gage said and retreated back up to the Windmill gear room.

"We need to find the Legacy," Arthur reminded him. "If the Cyrollans and the Qou'Thalas were battling over the central temple, then that's where we should begin our search."

"Yes, but how to get out without letting the Windmill Keeper seeing us?" Gage stared at the doorway leading to the Windmill's spars. "Arthur… do you remember what you said earlier about jumping out windows?"

"Oh no, you're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you thinking what I think you're thinking? I think you are." Gage went over to the lever and began turning it. Nothing happened. Gage looked down at the mess of gears. "Man, figuring out what all these gears do would be like finding a needle in a place where you wouldn't normally find any needles like a balloon factory or a… bakery… or a cheese shop… can I start this over?"

Gage scanned the floor and saw two gears lying to the right of the ladder. Picking them up, he placed them on two pegs in between the lever and the main shaft. Turning the lever caused the spars to rotate around. Gage turned the lever until the spar with the broken sail was lined up with the doorway. He then walked out onto the spar. Noticing the sea wall connected to the windmill, he turned the lever one more time and Gage started to move around the windmill. When he was even with the seawall, he jumped onto it. The sea wall was about ten feet thick.

"Way to go, Gage, Jackie Chan has nothing on you."

"Arthur, tell me everything you know about Atlantis."

"The first mention of Atlantis was by Plato in his works Timaeus and Critias. According to Plato, Atlantis was a utopia that existed somewhere in the Western ocean. It wasn't sure whether Plato was talking about the lost continent or fabricating an elaborate concept to help prove an argument, as he was known to do. There have been several underwater ruins discovered since the early twentieth century that had thought to have been Atlantis but the estimated dates of the ruins were nowhere near to the hypothesized date of Atlantis's existence. From the looks of the city, Atlantis was influenced by the Minoan culture and… and I'm boring you, aren't I?"

"Every little bit of information is helpful."

"Well we shouldn't stand here for too long. From up here we're likely to be spotted." Arthur pretended to call down to someone, "Oh, hi down there… who, us? Oh, just a couple of windmill repairmen doing their job (Gage, quick, show them your butt crack). Anyway, we should find a disguise quickly before we really are spotted." Gage took a look around, noticing a docked Egyptian ship. Gage walked along the sea wall until he came to the buttress of a crane that was touching the yardarm of a docked ship. He tight-roped walked to the main mast and climbed down onto the ship.

"Avast, ye scoundrels, you face Arthur the Terrible and Blackwood the… Mildly Terrible-But-Still-Righteous-Bub, strike ye collars and prepare to be boarded. Don't mind me, I'm feeling particularly naughty today."

Gage was about to scold Arthur for joking around in a time of crisis when he heard a voice call out, "Alms for a blind old beggar!"

"That sounds like its coming from around the corner," Gage commented.

"If he really is blind, who better to catch with the Chameleon Scanners without being seen," Arthur said. Gage leapt from the boat onto the dock which was covered with containers of various shapes and sizes. He followed the dock until he came to an old man sitting on the ground. He was dressed in rags and even had a bandage over his eyes.

"Computer, activate Chameleon Scanners," Gage commanded. The camera lens projected a red scanning beam which went over the beggar's image. Gage was about to turn to leave when he stepped on a creaking board.

"Sir," the beggar called. "Could you spare a few coins for a blind old beggar?"

"Sorry, I can't help you," Gage said.

"Looks like nasty weather," the beggar commented making Gage wonder if he really was blind. But more than that, the beggar said it more like a question than a statement.

"That's strange," Arthur said. "Even a cautious weatherman would tell you today's a parasailing day."

"I… don't believe so," Gage replied.

"Really? I could've sworn I felt a storm moving in. In that case, I think I'll remain here and get some rest."

"The beggar had a good idea," Arthur commented. "If we're going to be walking around Atlantis, we're going to need some money. Since Atlantis doesn't seem to have any phone booths (or a banking system for that matter), we should check the Egyptian ship, with so many supplies on board, coins are bound to be in surplus there."

Gage boarded the ship and explored it. He found no coins but he did find two other items of interest: a silk scarf and a gaff, a spear with a hook on one end. As Gage approached the bow of the ship, he saw a human arm off to the side. He transformed the Chameleon Jumpsuit into an image of the beggar and came onto the bow. An Egyptian man was sitting on the ground in chains. Gage decided to capture his image as well.

"Yes?" The man irritatingly asked Gage.

Gage decided to take a page from the beggar's book. "Would you spare a few coins for a blind old beggar?"

"Oh, right, coins." The Egyptian handed Gage a pouch of coins. He then stared at Gage like he was waiting for something. "Is there not something you wish to say?"

"Um… thank you, friend," Gage replied.

"No, that's not… that is, you say…" the Egyptian sighed heavily. "I fear you were not whom I was expecting."

"He's a cagey fellow," Arthur critiqued. "But I guess being locked up would do that to you. Still, he seems to be waiting for something, or someone."

"I must go now," Gage said sounding as close to a native as possible.

"Very well."

Gage returned to the dock. This time, instead of going to the beggar's spot, Gage followed the path in the opposite direction to the other side of the dock. There was a boat docked on the side. The man who was besides it was pudgy and dark skinned. He was playing some sort of flute. Realizing that an Atlantian beggar with Egyptian coins might seem a little odd from the Atlantian's point of view, Gage transformed the beggar's image into the Egyptian's then went down the steps to the side dock.

"Where can I take you?" The man asked.

_Ah, so he's a ferryman, _Gage realized.

"Take me to a place where the fun never ends," Arthur sang. Fortunately, the ferryman couldn't hear the A.I.

Gage quickly realized that this could be the break he was waiting for. "The Temple," he said.

"I can take you there, for ten dremoy." Gage didn't know how much ten dremoy was in Atlantis but he decided to give the ferryman one coin then work his way up from there. He handed the coin to the ferryman, who studied it for a moment before motioning for Gage to get on the boat. On the way, the ferryman made small talk with Gage. "I am Kashani, but everyone calls me Kashi," he introduced. "You must be the Captain of the boat they captured just this morning. I know how you feel, I'm a victim too. The Atlantians capture any boat that passes by. That's how they've kept this city secret for thousands of years. Whenever a ship passes too close, they capture it and they force the crew to live as second-class citizens. No one is allowed to leave. The rules are very strict."

* * *

Kashi transported Gage to a dock in front of the temple. The dock extended around a partition and under a canvas. Gage followed the dock and came face-to-face with a guard dressed like a Roman Centurion. Gage took particular note to the double-breasted axe emblem on his chest plate. "No second-class citizens in the Temple," he declared.

"Why not?" Gage asked.

The guard sighed, "By the creed of the Templars."

"Who is allowed in?"

"Only native Atlantian citizens making deliveries or possessing a gold temple medallion may enter."

"What kinds of deliveries are made to the Temple?"

"Anything the Templars have need of. For example, today deliveries are expected from the Olive Oil and Potter Shops."

"You said that you had to have a medallion. What medallion is that?"

"A gold medallion bearing the seal of the Temple. Only native Atlantians are allowed to have one."

"I see, well it seems I'm not going to be able to enter the Temple."

"Good day," the guard bid. As the guard turned to return to his post, Gage scanned his image and then returned to the ferry.

"Where would you like to go now?" Kashi asked.

"Disneyland!" Arthur cried.

"The Potter Shop," Gage requested.

"That will be ten dremoy." Again Gage handed him a gold coin and got on. "Do not lose hope; you are not alone in your plight. Many of the non-natives refuse to live as captives. They have formed an underground resistance and are planning to escape the island. Last I've heard they were almost ready. They will probably contact you soon if they have not already. Hey, do not tell anyone what I have told you."

"Okay, Kashi."

* * *

When Gage stepped from the dock, he found himself facing a small entryway. There was an entryway and an open hallway leading around the corner. Upon entering, Gage found two doors both leading into the same room. A pot-bellied man was standing by a large pot smoothing clay onto it. He was wearing nothing but a skirt and sandals and literally had clay on his face.

If there was a caste system in Atlantis, the Potter might not accept a lowly beggar or a foreign Captain. That meant there was one disguise that would work: the guard. Gage switched chameleon disguises and entered the Potter Shop. Gage quickly surveyed the room, noting the large kiln off to the side. "Good morning," Gage greeted.

The Potter cast one look at Gage and immediately returned to his sculpting. "I am sorry, but I'm much too busy for customers today. Perhaps if it's not a problem, you could come back in a couple of days."

"Why are you so busy?"

"I have a dozen pots to fire before the Kalos Kalyre celebration. It's unfair," the Potter whined. "The festival is finally here and I have to miss it because I have to make the wine enfore."

"Kalos Kalyre?" Gage asked temporarily going out of character.

"The final day of the festival, the great battle! Honestly, I am much too busy, maybe you should come back in a couple of days."

Gage kept pressing the Potter for information. "What's in the kiln?"

"My pots, if I do not watch them they could crack and if that happens I'll never make it to the festival! Oh, if only my sister will finish making the olive oil."

"You have a sister?"

"Yes, she makes olive oil, her shop is next door."

"Well it looks like you have a lot to do. I'll just be on my way."

"Things will be back to normal in two days, I promise."

As Gage turned to leave, he noticed a barrel of clay in the corner. He picked up a lump from the barrel and after scanning the Potter's image into the Chameleon Database, he left.

"Boy, he was a real crybaby," Arthur complained as Gage left. "He was like 'I don't want to do this, I want to go to the festival.'" Arthur erupted into a mocking tone of the Potter's voice. "Someone should just tell him to grow up." Gage chuckled.

Gage made his way around the side to the Olive Oil Shop. Outside, olives dried in the sun while barrels of already made olive oil waited. Arthur told Gage that olive oil was actually quite common among the exports of early Mediterranean cultures. Walking inside, Gage found himself surrounded by jars and pots. A woman with dark curly hair was pounding olives in a vat.

"Good morning," Gage greeted.

"Well good morning," she returned looking up from the pot of olives. "I'm surprised to see an Atlantian who is not at the festival. My brother and I aren't only because we have to work."

Gage feigned stupidity. "Might I know your brother?"

"Perhaps, he is Talos, the Potter next door. I should warn you that he is very cranky because he has a lot to do and can't make it to the festival. I think he sometimes forgets that sacrifice is the purest form of homage to the Earth Mother."

Gage pretended to be interested in the jars as he whispered, "Arthur, what can you tell me about the Earth Mother?"

"Many ancient cultures believed in dualism, that everything has an equal and opposite. These can take many different forms. Going by the Minoan culture as an example, the Earth Mother is the counterpart to Father Sky. They are husband and wife, brother and sister, parent and child (must be tough when filling out an application form). The Earth nurtures the people like a mother and the sky watches over them like a father."

"Where do you deliver all these jars?" Gage asked the Olive Oil Vendor

"Some will go to residences and some will go to the Temple but most we'll deliver to the coliseum for the Kalos Kalyre celebration."

Gage was about to ask the Olive Oil Vendor what the Kalos Kalyre was when he realized that she might become suspicious if a native suddenly started asking questions about an important celebration. So he said good-bye to her and left the Olive Oil Shop. He changed his Chameleon Disguise from the guard to the Captain. He reentered the shop.

The woman noticed Gage's new form. "Oh, forgive me," she said as she wiped sweat from her brow. "I wasn't expecting any customers today. I just assumed that everybody would be at the festival or preparing for the Kalos Kalyre. It's easy to forget that not everyone on the island shares in our beliefs."

"So what happens at the festival?"

"The festival is a five-day celebration ending with the Kalos Kalyre. It only happens twice in a lifetime so everybody participates, there is always much food and wine, beautiful music, dancing, and entertainment of all kind; it's really quite a party."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is the Kalos Kalyre?"

"Well… I suppose I could tell you a little bit about the great battle." The Olive Oil Vendor put down her mixer. "You see, it is our belief that the Earth Mother's children await to possess her healing powers as their birthright. Tomorrow when she reveals the source of her powers, the Gaealith, they will lock together in a battle of greed that could destroy themselves and their mother all together. This battle is called the Kalos Kalyre."

"The Earth Mother's children?"

"The sun and the moon, each is so certain that the Gaelith belongs to himself alone that they jealousy chase each other around the sky day and night but they only come together once in a great many years." It was obvious that this battle was the Atlantian's interpretation of the solar eclipse. And the vendor's story reminded Gage of the Qou'Thalas's message about possessing the Legacy as their birthright. Suddenly Gage realized that there was more to this legend than meets the eye. It was as if the people of Atlantis knew about the battle between the Cyrollans and the Qou'Thalas that was going to take place tomorrow. The Sosiqui must've known about this but how?

"Where will the Earth Mother reveal the Gaealith?"

"In the Temple," the vendor replied, and then like she was reading from a text, she recited, "it will flow up out of the Earth on a column of water and as the water flows over the Gaelith, it will become endowed with healing powers and refill the reservoir. At least that is how the Templars have told us it happens, they are the only ones allowed to witness the miracle."

"Who are the Templars?"

"They are the priests. Some say the Earth Mother gave them the secret of eternal life. But who would know, they almost never leave the temple. Only once have I ever seen one of them."

"Does the healing water really work?"

"Oh yes, but non-natives are not allowed in the Temple." She shrugged her shoulders apologetically.

"How does the battle end?"

"If the battle ends peacefully, the Earth Mother retains the Gaealith, and the people of Atlantis enjoy many more years in good health. If not, the Earth Mother perishes and Atlantis along with her. But we have been here longer than anyone could remember and we have seen many Kalos Kalyre."

Gage risked asking a tough question. "Why do you celebrate the Kalos Kalyre?"

"Oh there are many reasons, really, but most see it as an excuse to live life to its fullest before the end comes." Gage said good-bye to the woman again and as he turned to leave, he noticed that a jar had the same double-breasted axe as an emblem, just like the temple guard's breast plate. Gage removed the lump of clay from his temporal pocket and pressed it against the emblem. After replacing the imprinted clay in his temporal pocket, he left.

"Okay, we have our medallion," Gage said. "But we still need to make it gold. But where to find gold here?"

"We can't," Arthur said. "The prime resource metal for the Atlantians was called Orichelcum, a metal similar to copper. Any gold was probably imported from other countries."

"Then I guess we'll just have to search the city of gold," Gage said dropping the Captain's image.

"Great, hold on to your stomach, Gage, because we're off to El Dorado!"

"Set coordinates for El Dorado, 524 A.D. Initiate time jump!" Gage disappeared.

* * *

Main Cast

Gage Blackwood, Agent 5: Jerry Rector

Arthur: Matt Weinhold

Atlantis Cast

Beggar: Gene Chronopoulos

Captain: Richard Tanner

Kashi: James Hazelwood

Guard: Fredrik Cavally

Potter: Lyle Kanouse

Olive Oil Vendor: Dominique Debroux


	5. Double Time

The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

_Gage Blackwood and his AI companion Arthur have set out on a mission to recover the Sosiqui Legacy to give Earth a fighting chance over the Qou'Thalas. Their first stop was Atlantis where they found out that only native baring a temple medallion could enter the Temple. Gage made a medallion by imprinting a lump of clay from the Potter Shop with the image of the double-breasted axe found in the Olive Oil Shop. Now they are off to El Dorado to get the gold they need for their medallion.

* * *

_

Date: January 28, 524 A.D.  
Place: El Dorado; Andes Mountains, Peru

Gage found himself on a farm plateau. He was not far from the well where he first landed. "Arthur, tell me about El Dorado."

"The legend of El Dorado grew after the Conquistadors came to Peru. They heard a legend about a city whose roads were covered with gold. As an interesting side note, the name 'El Dorado' was first coined by Sebastian de Bella Cazaar in 1542, a veteran of the Incan Conquest and founder of the Capitol of Ecuador. He met a native who spoke of a man who sprinkled his body with a fine gold leaf before bathing in a sacred mountain lake. Upon hearing the story, Sebastian called him 'El Dorado,' the Golden Man. Today we know that man as George Hamilton."

"Now we know why the city was never found," Gage said. "It was destroyed in battle."

The sky was bright and warm, a slight wind coursed through the mountain plateau. It reminded Gage of the good old days at Caldoria. Unfortunately, it was the wrong time for reminiscing, when the Qou'Thalas could be breathing down Earth's neck right now.

Gage heard some snoring coming from down the mountain. He followed it to see a boy sleeping by the well. He had jet dark hair, tanned skin, and a skinny figure.

"I think we found our first El Dorado Chameleon disguise," Arthur guessed.

"Computer, activate Chameleon Scanners." The red line scanned the image of the boy. Gage donned the farm boy's image and returned to the place where he landed. He went up the mountain and saw the farm stable built, but without any "occupants."

"You know, I heard a story that takes place in a stable like this one," Arthur said. "Now which one was it again? Something about a manger… hmmm…" Gage went to the far end of the plateau and looked out over the mountains.

What Gage saw was beauty beyond anything he has ever seen before. The temple sat on another plateau connected by balloons that rode on rails. To the left of the temple was a huge city that was also connected to the temple by balloon rails.

"Uh… Gage, I don't see this town on our map, why don't you ask the nice man sharpening the large scythe for directions?" Gage looked to his left and saw a man who looked much like the boy only older. Gage turned to leave but the man already spotted him.

"Hachayo, there you are! Son, I can tell by your drooping eyes that you were sleeping. Were you out late last night visiting the Shaman again?"

"The Shaman?" Gage asked confused.

"Lately, I would imagine that you know him better than I. Anyhow, the Shaman is the one who speaks to the Spirits. Son, I know you have been going to see him. It's good that you are interested in the stories of our people, but I can not tend to a fruitful bounty alone, I need help. Harvesting the crops that Toahualpa provides our people is hard work. Don't worry, I'm not preventing you from seeing the Shaman, just tend to your chores."

"What's a Toahualpa?"

"Toahualpa is the greatest of the four elemental spirits. She is the Earth, the strength of stone and the wealth of soil. It is she who causes the ground to be fertile. Next time you visit the Shaman, ask him to tell you more about the spirits… after your chores are done, of course."

"Of course, Father, I'll do those chores now."

"I'll see you at dinner, Hachayo, and don't take any more naps, you've daydreamed enough for today."

"Hey Gage, just for kicks, go up to the boy disguised as the father."

"I don't know, Arthur…"

"Oh come on, come on, it'll only take a minute. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please…"

"All right, I will." Gage scanned the father's image then went back down the hill. He switched chameleon disguises and went up to the boy sleeping by the well.

"Not a very active child, is he?" Arthur conversed. "Why don't you check his pulse and while you're at it, check his pockets for loose change."

"Hachayo," Gage said in a deep voice trying to sound like the farmer. The boy was startled up.

"Hello, Father, I was taking a short nap, but I'll have those chores done very soon."

"Why haven't you done your chores yet?"

"I couldn't sleep last night, I'll do them right now, I promise."

"Very well then, I must go now."

"Good bye, Father, I'll have those chores done before dinner." With those words, Hachayo started to draw water from the well.

"Happy now?" Gage asked Arthur as they went back up.

"At least we know he's alive," Arthur said.

Gage dropped his disguise and went onto the balloon landing. The farm plateau that Hachayo and his father lived on was connected to the temple plateau by two rope rails. One of the gondola balloons was on the other side of one rope. Gage hopped into the balloon (the one that one day from now, he would have to construct using a bucket crank and basket) which started to ride across the rail. At the same time, the balloon that was stationed at the other end began traveling to the farm plateau on the other line. Looking out from the balloon, Gage could see numerous drawings carved into the side of the mountain.

When Gage's balloon arrived at the Temple plateau, Gage climbed the steps of the temple. When he got inside, he noticed a man rubbing gold leaf onto a mural. He crept over to a basket and opened it up. Inside were tons of gold sheets. Gage took one, put it in his temporal pocket, and then left as silently as he came in. At a landing half-way down the steps, he jumped back to Atlantis.

* * *

Date: October 5th, 1262 B.C.  
Place: Atlantis; Mediterranean Sea

Gage appeared on the exact same spot he left, near the Olive Oil Vendor's shop.

"Okay," Gage said to Arthur. "We have our materials but we need to melt the gold over the medallion to make it really look authentic. Where can we find an oven here?"

"Wait a minute," Arthur said. "The Potter has a kiln… or is it a kilt? Is it possible to harden pottery under a man's skirt?" Gage ignored Arthur's question and returned to the Potter Shop. He spied on Talos (the Potter) from the entryway. At the moment, he was turning a large gray container. "We need to use the Potter's kiln to melt the gold over the medallion, but I don't think he's going to just let us walk up and bake a cake."

"Hmmm… he wants to go to the festival, right?"

"Right."

"I have an idea." Gage went back to the Olive Oil Vendor. Still out of sight, he scanned the Olive Oil Vendor's image, and then donned it.

"Arthur, give me your best impression of the Olive Oil Vendor."

"I hear ya."

He went into the Potter Shop. The Potter looked shocked to see her. "Tira, have you already finished making the Olive Oil? Oh, I envy you. I still have a dozen pots left in the kiln. They won't be ready for at least three hours! Meanwhile, I am stuck here with nothing to do but wait and watch."

Arthur hacked into the Chameleon Jumpsuit's communication frequency and gave his best accented feminine voice. "Stuck here, is there somewhere you need to go?"

The Potter looked shocked, "That is not funny, you know how I've been looking forward to the festival and tomorrow's the last day." Arthur was right about one thing, the Potter was a real whiner. It seems like he complained every other sentence.

"Gee, that's too bad," Arthur was saying through the Olive Oil Vendor's voice. "With all this work you have to do, it looks like you're going to miss it."

The Potter looked like he was ready to cry. "You are enjoying this, are you not? Whatever did I do to deserve such treatment?"

"Okay, I can take a hint, go ahead I'll watch the amphora."

"Truly? Oh thank you, Tira, remember to turn them so that they do not crack." The Potter ran out the back door. Gage quietly followed and once he was sure the Potter left the dock in his own boat to the festival, he dropped his Chameleon disguise.

Gage went up to the kiln and opened it to reveal a Lazy Susan with several pots on it. He placed the clay medallion on it and then placed the gold leaf over it. He closed the kiln and gave the Lazy Susan a turn. When the turn was a full three-sixty degrees, Gage opened the kiln and took out the now gold medallion. He placed it in his Jumpsuit's temporal pocket. As he was heading out, he noticed a pitcher and a bowl on a shelf. He took both of them.

"What are you doing that for, Gage?" Arthur asked.

"I need to pretend that I'm making a delivery to the Temple so I'm going to fill the bowl with Olive Oil."

"And the pitcher?"

Gage lowered his head, "It's for when the Qou'Thalas attack. They'll stop at nothing to obtain the Legacy and destroy anyone who gets in their way including humans. If the Olive Oil Vendor is right and the water really does have healing powers, then it could help cut the casualties down to a minimum."

"Gage Blackwood, even in times of horror and fear, you still think of others. Honestly, Gage, you haven't changed a bit."

"Thanks… I think." After filling the bowl with olive oil from a barrel outside the Olive Oil Vendor's shop, Gage disguised himself as the Potter and returned to the ferry and asked Kashi to take him to the Temple.

* * *

When the guard approached Gage the second time, he actually had a smile on his face. Maybe because this time, Gage was actually a citizen and not a foreigner.

"I'm here to make a delivery to the Temple," Gage stated.

"Your medallion, citizen," the guard requested. Gage turned the cooled medallion over to him.

The guard nodded, "Thank you, return to your ferry and I'll let you through."

Gage returned to Kashi. The Nubian ferryman reported, "The loch is draining, lets go now." Gage climbed back onto the ferry and Kashi paddled to the forty foot high door. The doors parted revealing a second set of doors. The ferry moved in between the two doors as the first set closed. Water filled the loch making the ferry rise to the upper reservoir. Kashi moved the ferry over to the dock and Gage exited it.

The Temple's architecture resembled Roman Bath House. The Temple's entrance was part of the dock in between two huge banners. Safely out of Kashi's line of sight, Gage dropped the Potter's disguise. In front of a deep well was basin filled with water. Gage took the pitcher, filled it, and then put it back in his temporal pocket. He then walked around to the right side of the well. When he looked down, he saw water pouring from a gate into the well. Gage took out the gaff he found on the Egyptian boat and used it to slide the gate shut. As the water dispersed, Gage could see a platform with a triangle-shaped hole in it. Something was glowing inside the hole. Gage slid the gate open and the water started to pour down into the well again. Still nothing happened. Gage repeated the process a few more times before closing the gate and replacing the gaff in his temporal pocket.

"Arthur, what's going on?"

"I don't know, Gage, I thought that once the gate is open, the Gaealith would rise out of the Earth on a column of water like the Olive Oil Vendor said, but now… I don't know." Was it possible that the Legacy was no longer in Atlantis? Was it possible that it was in one of the other time zones? He was back to square one.

* * *

Disguised as the Potter again, Gage returned to the ferry and asked Kashi (who looked very eager to leave) to take him to the windmill (despite Arthur's demand to take him to Funkytown). Gage could see the dock where the beggar was nearby. Once inside, he switched his Chameleon disguise to the Captain and walked from the living quarters he found himself in when he entered to the actual windmill. The spiraling staircase was intact fully. A large pylon stood at the center with a control wheel off to the side. There were gold bolt rings on several spots in the floor. One even had a rope attached to a pully. The Windmill Keeper was dressed in white garments and was sewing a piece of white cloth. Gage captured his image with the Chameleon Scanners and greeted him.

Upon seeing Gage as the Captain, he looked around and stated, "Looks like nasty weather." Gage was confused; didn't the beggar ask the same thing? Was this some sort of greeting in Atlantis? No, it couldn't be, otherwise that would've been how the Potter and Olive Oil Vendor greeted him when he went to visit them.

Arthur pointed that out, "Gage, he said 'it looks like nasty weather' too. Unless the neighborhood calls the same psychic weather advisor, something is definitely fishy in Atlantis, and it's not the tide."

Gage decided to choose the opposite answer to what he gave the beggar. "If you insist…"

"Storms can appear from nowhere this time of year," the Windmill Keeper commented and then went back to his knitting.

"When in Atlantis, do as the Atlantians do, I suppose," Arthur said. "Why don't you go around trying it on different people just for kicks?" Overall, the idea was sound, so Gage left the Windmill, returned to the Potter's disguise and asked Kashi to take him to the docks (and not to their leaders as Arthur so humorously put it).

* * *

Returning to the docks, Gage assumed the disguise as the beggar and went to visit the captured Egyptian Captain. "Looks like nasty weather," Gage said carefully.

The Captain looked around before replying, "Yes, it may even rain." He breathed a sigh of relief. "So you are my contact then, were it not for these bonds I would've been able to meet you as planned. But I have spoken to a member of my crew and he's coming to free me shortly. Once I am unleashed, I will seek you out." Gage nodded and left the ship.

"I think I'm starting to pierce through the dark storm clouds of deceit," Arthur said. "It looks like we stumbled upon an arranged meeting between the Captain and Beggar. They're using code words to communicate. Try answering the Beggar as the Captain would."

Gage assumed the Captain's disguise and went over to the beggar.

"A few coins for a blind old beggar," the beggar requested upon hearing Gage walk up. This time, Gage was able to drop a few coins into the beggar's alms bowl. "Thank you, friend, looks like nasty weather."

"Yes, it may even rain," Gage replied in the same tone as the Captain would.

"Ah, good, I am glad to see that they have finally let you off the ship. My name is Padros the Atlantian. Let me start by saying that I make no excuses for my people, they have no right to treat you this way. I wanted to meet with you to give you a chance to escape this prison island. There is an underground network of captives who are willing to risk their lives for a chance to return to their homelands. I've been meeting with them to organize an escape with my knowledge of the island's inner workings; we have come up with a solid plan. We leave tomorrow, and we would like you to join us."

"I bet he didn't count on a detective from the future stumbling onto his plans while trying to find a lost pyramid-shaped artifact said to contain vast knowledge," Arthur commented.

"Why do you call this a prison island?" Gage asked.

Padros chuckled, "Yours is not the first ship to be captured by the Atlantian fleet. The people of Atlantis go to such great lengths to ensure that their private utopia remains unspoiled by invaders or trade. But what makes it a utopia for natives makes it a prison for their second-class citizens. No one is allowed to leave, you will never see your homeland or your family again, nor will you be granted Temple rights."

"I thought we were in thirteenth century Atlantis, not a twentieth century Nazi death camp," Arthur cracked.

"What's your plan?"

"Your skills were impressed upon me by a fellow countryman of yours, Amon the Egyptian. He will give you the details of the escape plan and you can find him at the windmill nearest to us. When he asks about the weather, tell him 'it is going to be a long winter.'"

"Why should I trust you?"

Padros chuckled again, "It is true you have no reason to trust me. All I can tell you is that this can be your one and only chance to escape. If you do not take advantage of it, you may very well regret that decision for the rest of your life."

"What if we get caught?"

"Death will certainly be the punishment, but even death is preferable to living life as a prisoner." Gage was astonished, but at the same time, not surprised. Freedom Fighters like Padros will do almost anything to escape.

"I need to go now," Gage said and went away.

"So, now what?" Arthur asked.

"Now we see a windmill keeper about a temple."

* * *

Gage arrived at the Windmill still disguised as the Captain. He walked up the stairs and into the living quarters. Amon was still needling away at the sail. Once again, he saw Gage. "Still looks like nasty weather," the keeper said.

"Yes, it looks like it's going to be a long winter," Gage replied.

Amon smiled, "Ah, good then the Beggar has convinced you to join us, Akmed. How long has it been… ten years… twelve? It is good to see you again, old friend. Now you see that my ship was not lost at sea, surely everyone must think that, but soon I'll be able to tell them myself."

"How did you end up here?"

"In the same manner as you, my ship was captured while on a trading voyage. They brought me back here and haven't allowed me to step foot on a ship since. I had no choice but to find work on the island." He scoffed, "Me a man of the sea, forced to take work as a Windmill Keeper! Well none of that matters now."

"Who is the Beggar?" Gage hoped that by asking this question, he could find out how Padros knew the island had inner workings so maybe he could find them and get to that weird structure he saw in the well. Hopefully, if he was on the right track, it would reveal clues as to where the Gaelith (a.k.a. the Sosiqui Legacy) might be.

"He goes by the name Padros. He is an outcast Atlantian Templar. Many years ago while only an Initiate; he was blinded and expelled from the order simply because he expressed disagreement with withholding the Gaealith's power. His harsh punishment was a message to other Initiates who felt as he did. Do not worry that Padros is an Atlantian, he is a good man who believes in our cause."

Gage knew he had to feign ignorance about Atlantis's religion even though he heard it before from the Olive Oil Vendor and the Beggar. "What's a Templar?"

"Bah, I have never discarded our beliefs for their religious nonsense, but I do know that the Templars are to the Atlantians what the High Priests are to us."

"And the Gaealith?"

"The Gaealith is the Atlantians' most important religious artifact. They foolishly believe that it has life-giving powers. So strong is their belief, that they keep it from non-native eyes within the Temple. It is always protected by a Guardian Templar."

"Were there other initiates who agreed with Padros?"

"Yes, his best friend Saros finished Templar training and passed the Rite of Initiation even though he secretly agreed with Padros. They have not spoken since."

"What is the Final Rite of Initiation?"

"Bah, only more nonsense, they say the initiate must commune with the Gaealith and ask its blessing to become a Guardian Templar. Supposedly, if they're worthy, the Gaelith grants them eternal life."

Gage wanted to ask more questions, but he knew that it might raise Amon's suspicions if he didn't sound interested about escaping. "What's the escape plan?"

Amon looked around as if there were spies everywhere before replying, "The plan is to escape the island while everybody is celebrating the Kalos Kalyre. But what's more, Padros and I have uncovered a secret passage to the Inner Temple. Tomorrow, I will escort Padros through the passage to rescue his old friend Saros and escape with the Gaealith. Afterwards, we will board three ships and sail away undetected."

This was the clue that Gage had been waiting for. "There's an Inner Temple? Well where is it? And what's your secret passage?"

"The Inner Temple lies below the Main Temple at the bottom of the bay. All the sea water flows down into the Inner Temple powering a clockwork device. That water drains out through a pipe that passes underneath this windmill. I've broken into the pipe and it's large enough to crawl through."

"Why's the plan set for tomorrow?" Gage asked.

"Not that it would matter once the fighting starts," Arthur added though only Gage could hear it.

"Because forever water flows through the pipe except during the Kalos Kalyre. They claim this is directed by the Earth Mother, something about raising the Gaealith on a column of water. Whatever the reason, the channel runs dry for just one hour on that day."

"You said before that you were going to rescue Saros, what do you mean by that?"

"The sword falls swiftly on Templars who wish to abandon the order. Even straying from the grounds is not permitted. Now we've gotten word of our plan to Guardian Templar Saros, he has agreed to allow Padros access to the Gaealith in return for escaping the watchful eyes of his brethren."

"What do you want me to do?"

"We request only that you pilot one of the escape ships."

"I must go now," Gage said. "I'll speak to you later."

"Of course, I must go up to fix the windmill but you are welcome to stay if you like." Gage turned and exited the windmill.

"We'll have to wait until later to make our move, while Amon is busy," Gage told Arthur. He switched to the Windmill Keeper's disguise. "Let's return to the docks in the mean time. Besides, there's something I need to do."

* * *

Gage (as the Windmill Keeper) walked onto the Egyptian boat and went to the bow. Akmed gasped upon seeing "Amon." "Amon, you're alive! We thought you were lost at sea! Now I see the truth with my own eyes, your ship was captured just as mine was, yes?"

"How did you end up here?"

"We were returning to Egypt with a load of silk when my gaze fell upon this… wretched island. We sailed in for a closer look and by the time we saw the warships, all chance of escape was lost!"

"Well they'll probably release you soon. I must return to my windmill, we'll talk later."

"Until then, Amon."

As Gage exited the boat, he noticed that it was eerily quiet. "Arthur, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I've been in Atlantis for almost twenty minutes and so far nobody's tried to steal my soul."

"Huh?"

"Old joke. Actually I know what you're thinking: I don't hear the Beggar calling out for alms. Maybe he fell asleep."

"Let's check just to be on the safe side." Gage went to the spot where Padros was sitting but he didn't see Padros, only his alms bowl. "Looks like Padros left to fulfill his part of the Underground's plan." Gage took the alms bowl and placed it in his temporal pocket. He then converted into the Captain and headed back to the Windmill.

* * *

Gage returned to the Windmill. After making sure Amon was out of sight (considering how the Windmill Keeper was upstairs in the gear room, it was a safe bet that he was), he dropped his Chameleon Disguise. "Okay, Amon said that he broke into a pipe that passed underneath the Windmill. Now if he wanted it to remain secret, he would have to have done his digging beneath this Windmill, probably underneath this very room." Gage looked around the floor and noticed that one of the rings on the floor had a rope attached to it. He grabbed that ring and started to pull. "Careful," Arthur warned. "I don't want you ending up in some back alley Atlantian Chiropractor's Office; I hear therapy involves a rack and two bulls."

Gage let go of the ring and pounded on the stone.

It was loose.

"We're on the right track but we need to take advantage of some alternate force to lift that stone." Gage went into the residence of the Windmill. Not much, just a bed, trunk, and table with chair. Gage sat down on the chest and jumped as the top of it jiggled. Gage lifted the top. Inside was a scroll in Egyptian. It showed a sketch of the center pylon of the Windmill with a man standing next to it. A hole was in front of the man.

"These must be Amon's plans for how to access the secret passage," Gage said excitedly. "Looks like he rigged the Windmill to open the passageway from him.

Arthur had other things on his mind, "I hate to make criticism in other people's homes but that rug looks like a beaver exploded." He was referring to a hairy rug that stuck out from underneath the chest.

"Arthur…" Gage began as he replaced the scroll in its hiding place.

"I mean seriously, Gage, it looks like it should be on Shatner's head or maybe Ernest Borgnine's back."

"Arthur, this isn't…"

"If meat is murder then that rug is at least a severe beating."

"Go ahead, smart guy…"

"Gage, slowly reach for the sheers, no sudden movements it looks hungry!"

"Arthur, I was being…"

"Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Floor."

"What?"

"How many human beards had to die to make that rug?

"The ferocious weed creature from the planet weave waited patiently on the ground, biding its time for its favorite unsuspecting meal: a scrumptious time-travel agent.

"That rug looks like a…"

"ARTHUR!" Gage snapped.

"All right, all right, I ran out of hairy comments anyway."

Gage went back to the stone slab with the rope attached to it. He picked up the rope and tied it around the central pylon. Going around to the side, he turned a side wheel. The stone slab was raised revealing a hole.

"Nice work, Gage," Arthur commented. "Now that we dammed up that river, we can get in to the secret passage." Gage jumped down and crawled through. "We better hurry, Gage, any moment they're going to turn the water back on and… well… to cut to the chase, this suit can only be dried cleaned."

"I get the picture."

* * *

Gage came out from the pipe into the bottom of the well, which was much larger than it appeared to be from the top. At the center was an incredible dais-structure with ornamental bull heads. Gage couldn't find anything that could help him and knowing that any moment water could come flowing back in; he climbed up metal rings built into the wall. This must've been what Padros called the Inner Temple. Now assuming the Gaealith was in that structure inside the dais at the center, Gage needed to figure out a way to open it and the best way to do that would be to scout the surrounding area.

To Gage's left was a mural. At the top was circle within a triangle. The circle was clearly meant to be the Earth but as for the triangle… Each of the points of the triangle had a different picture. At the top was the Atlantian bull, another was a spade-shaped object and a third had a picture of a dragon or some sort of winged serpent on it.

"Arthur, what's this language?" Gage asked. "I don't recognize it."

"It's a variant of Linear A, old the oldest known Earth languages, I'll try to translate as closely as I can… 'We are the Children of the Earth Mother. Long ago she lived among us protecting and teaching our people. Her power and knowledge were beyond measure. Before she left us, she entrusted our priests with the power of life; the power to heal and renew, the gift of immortality! We must honor her memory by always guarding the Earth Mother's blessing.'"

"So the Sosiqui entrusted the people of Atlantis with the Legacy," Gage deduced. But if that was true, what role did the people of El Dorado and Shangri-La played?

Gage kept going down the passageway and eventually came to a small room. A man was standing with his back to Gage. Gage quickly threw himself against the opposite wall and noticed another mural. He had Arthur translate it.

"'We are the Second Children of the Earth Mother, doomed to be consumed by her first children, the sun and the moon. As the two enemies move through the heavens, both fighting each other for the Earth Mother's power, the world beneath trembles before their terrible might. We know that one day they will come together and cause the dark day that will destroy our city: the Kalos Kalyre.'"

"They seem to have incorporated the sun and the moon into their mythology," Gage figured. "The eclipse of the sun and the moon must represent the day the Cyrollans and the Qou'Thalas battled over Atlantis and destroyed the city."

"Following the assumption that the Atlantians believed that the aliens were gods; the Earth Mother that appeared before them and gave then the Gaealith must've been the Sosiqui."

"Is someone out there?" A voice called from the next room.

"Uh-oh, Gage, switch disguises quickly before we create a temporal distortion wave bigger than Agent 3's."

Gage quickly disguised himself as Padros just in time as a man came out. He was balding and had a thin dark moustache and piercing blue eyes. He was dressed in what were clearly priestly robes. Through his helmet and the disguise as the Beggar, Gage's eyes widened. It was Elliott Sinclair! "Padros," Sinclair cried happily. "I'm glad to see they've agreed to send you. You know, seeing you again brings back the good times we had during initiate training, that is until… well… I wish I had the courage to stand with you instead of biting my tongue and grudgingly accepted the Templars' insolent views." Gage came to the shocking (and somewhat horrifying) conclusion: that this man, Saros from the way he talked to Gage as the Beggar, was Elliott Sinclair! Somehow, when Sinclair escaped the destruction of Atlantis, he brought the ability of immortality, or at least eternal youth. And when Gage captured him and cut him off from his lab, that ability was taken away and Sinclair aged at a rapid rate.

"Yes," Gage agreed. "There views were very… uh… insular."

"Indeed," Saros said raising an eyebrow. "And you were absolutely right, the Gaealith does not belong to the Templars, it belongs to all! What right do they have to decide who should or should not receive its healing grace? And despite great risk to yourself, you stood by your beliefs even though it meant giving up an opportunity you waited your entire lifetime for."

"Opportunity?"

"The opportunity to commune with the Gaealith, to find out if you were worthy of its precious gift: eternal life. But now you shall have it! I will not stand in your way; I hereby renounce my title as Guardian Templar. I haven't the stomach for it. But before I go, you're going to need this." Saros handed Gage a sun-shaped medallion. "It will no longer serve me any purpose."

"What will you do now?"

"Before I became a Templar Initiate, I truly believed that the order was my life's calling. But now I realize that I can't do the world a service by sequestering the Gaelith from others. I've been given a gift, it's time I used it. Your courage has helped me to see this and now I must call upon my own courage to guide me. Farewell, my friend." Saros then left Gage alone in the room.

_So Sinclair a.k.a. Saros left the Templars shortly before the destruction of the city by the Cyrollans. He somehow lived for 3,000 years with the eternal living ability inside his lab. When the Cyrollans came to invite Earth into the Symbiotry, Sinclair believed that they would destroy Earth like they did Atlantis so he tried to stop him. So in short, I caused Sinclair's death. No wonder he was so bitter when we met at Vega Thalon._

Gage looked around the room. Saros/Sinclair was standing in front of a giant wheel with two arrows pointed in different directions. There were various images on it.

It was almost like a clock.

"This must've been what Amon meant by a clockwork device," Gage figured.

Arthur noted that a gear was missing between the crank and the calendar wheel. "Maybe that's so kids don't advance it to their birthday."

Gage looked at the sun medallion that Saros gave him. It was shaped like a gear! Saros wasn't just saying typical religious stuff when he gave Gage the gear, he really would need it if he was to set the calendar wheel so that it would reveal the Gaealith. Gage inserted it in between the calendar wheel and the crank. He then turned the crank so that the sun and the moon arrows would come together just like in the Olive Oil Vendor's story. The moment they came together, there was a sound of shifting gears and after that, nothing.

"Something's missing," Arthur said. "To put it metaphorically, we set the alarm clock to the correct time but the clock isn't plugged in. I don't see a giant rodent treadmill anywhere so I would guess that this clock is powered by measured volumes of water."

"Arthur, you may have found the answer!"

"I did?"

"Yes, but I need to get to the Outer Temple fast!"

"I saw a staircase across the hall." Gage ran down the hallway and up the flights of stairs and came out from the basin the healing water was in. Gage went over to the well and used the gaff to open the grate.

Suddenly a shaft of water shot out from the well carrying with it a pyramid-shaped object. If the Olive Oil Vendor's story was to be believed, then this was the Gaelith or Legacy.

"Looks like your water clock repair correspondence classes finally paid off," Arthur said jokingly. "Let's grab that rock and get out of here." Gage heard footsteps down below and realized that the other Templars must've realized that Saros had deserted his post and was now coming to check. Gage placed the Gaealith in his temporal pocket and jumped back to the TSA.

* * *

Main Cast

Gage Blackwood, Agent 5: Jerry Rector  
Arthur: Matt Weinhold

Atlantis Cast  
Beggar: Gene Chronopoulos  
Captain: Richard Tanner  
Kashi: James Hazelwood  
Potter: Lyle Kanouse  
Olive Oil Vendor: Dominique Debroux  
Guard: Fredrik Cavally  
Windmill Keeper: Brian Nahas  
Saros: Graham Jarvis

El Dorado Cast  
Hachayo: Jeremiah Najera  
Hachayo's father: Miguel Najera


	6. Peaceful Time

The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

_After making a brief stop in El Dorado, Gage and Arthur returned to Atlantis where they made a gold medallion to get into the temple. Even though they succeeded, they still couldn't find the artifact they were looking for. Returning to the residential section of Atlantis, they discovered that the non-natives of Atlantis were planning on escaping with the help of Padros, an exiled Atlantean priest. From him and the Windmill Keeper Amon, Gage learned that the Templars kept the Gaealith sequestered within the Inner Temple below the Main Temple. Gage gained access to it through the Windmill where they met a young Elliott Sinclair (going by the name Saros). Gage recovered the object in question and jumped back to TSA

* * *

_

Date: November 11th, 2329 A.D.  
Place: TSA Headquarters; Appalachian Mountains, Earth

Even before he entered, Ambassador Jhessela realized he was successful in his search. "I can feel Sosiqui energy flowing from you," she said excitedly. "Show me what you have found."

Gage removed the pyramid-shaped object he retrieved from the temple in Atlantis. "This object was sheltered in one of the Temples, could it be the Legacy?"

"Yes," Jhessela replied as she took the object from him and studied it. "This is a Relic of the Elders, it bears the mark. The other inscriptions are very complex, I will attempt to translate them but my knowledge of Sosiqui is limited. We had discovered long ago that several old Earth languages were actually primitive dialects of Sosiqui. That's part of the reason why we asked Earth to join the Symbiotry ten years ago. We knew that they were heavily influenced by the Elders."

_So the Cyrollans revered the Sosiqui almost as much as the Atlantians did, _Gage figured.

Jhessela gasped, "Oh no!"

"What is it?" Baldwin asked.

"This is only a part of the true Legacy. The inscriptions speak of three vessels, piously guarded that hold the secrets of the Legacy. This is only one of them."

"So there are two more like this one out there?" Will asked.

"Most likely, but Gage has given us hope."

"Did you find objects like this in the other two temples?" Baldwin asked.

"No, I haven't searched them completely yet," Gage replied.

"I briefed the World Senate on what's been going on," Baldwin told the assembled group. "They've lifted the suspension and given us full sanction to search for this Legacy." Gage and Will exchanged a brief smile. TSA was back in business. Baldwin then addressed specifically to Jhessela. "You must understand, Ambassador Jhessela, TSA protocol requires that only Agents stay in the Command Room."

"I understand, Commissioner Baldwin. If you require our assistance, you need but to ask. I will devote all of my energies towards slowing the advance of the Qou'Thalas." And with those words, Ambassador Jhessela left.

"Daughton, I want you to study every molecule of this… thing," Baldwin instructed. "And run the inscriptions through our language database, we need answers."

William looked at the inscriptions that covered the artifact. "I'm going to need someone knowledgeable to help me translate then. Not to question your judgment, sir, but you just kicked that someone out."

"I need people I can count on in a crisis. The only people I can fully trust are my agents."

"Bring Michelle back." Baldwin looked incredulously at Gage. "She's an expert linguist and historian," Agent 5 quickly explained.

Baldwin almost laughed, "Agent 3? She's a criminal, worse, a traitor. She captured and imprisoned you, remember?"

"No I don't," Gage said matter-of-factly. "That memory was erased. But she did give herself up to give us this chance. Put her under house arrest, do whatever you have to do, but bring her back. We need her."

Baldwin looked over to Daughton, silently asking his opinion on the matter. Daughton's train of thought was pulled in two different directions at once. On one hand, Gage had a point, when it came to languages, Earth and otherwise, Agent 3 was the most knowledgeable in the subject of both the Deep Time Unit and the Temporal Protectorate. On the other hand, he was already in hot water from revealing the Chameleon Prototype. To further offend his boss by siding against him might be suicide. "I can't do this alone," he admitted.

Baldwin sighed in defeat. "Very well, I'll release her, but if she screws up once, she's history!" Only Arthur, watching through the camera lens in Gage's helmet on a side table, found that humorous.

"I think she might surprise you," Gage said. Baldwin raised an eyebrow, why was Gage vouching for the same person who attacked and imprisoned him? The very person who tried to frame him! If it was Baldwin himself, he wouldn't give Agent 3 the time of day, but Gage… "I'll be back when I find another of the artifacts," Gage said and turned to leave.

"You should know something," Baldwin called after him. "The Qou'Thalas has entered Symbiotry space. They are ignoring all other planets and continuing towards Earth, it is doubtful that the Symbiotry Defense Fleet will slow them down. Time is now our enemy!" Gage nodded and left.

"Where to now, Gage?" Arthur asked.

"Shangri-La, Arthur." Gage time jumped.

* * *

Date: April 14th, 1219 A.D.  
Place: Shangri-La; the Himalaya Mountains; Central Asia

Gage materialized on a mountain path. From his position, he could see across the ravine. There were two bridges across the ravine: a small one and a large one, the same one that Gage used to climb down into the ravine.

"There's the Tibetan Monastery we saw spilled all over the ravine. I have to say it looks much better erect than wrecked."

Gage then noticed a man lying face-down in the dirt (yes, dirt). He had long dark hair and dressed in tattered clothing.

Arthur answered Gage's unasked question, "In all likelihood, that human roadblock is a Buddhist Pilgrim and judging from his appearance, he endured a difficult journey to get here. I suggest you capture his image with the Chameleon Scanners while he's not looking." Gage scanned his image and then donned it. He then went across the small bridge.

On the other side was something Gage would never imagine he would find in the Himalayas: grass. Clean cut grass, dirt paths, birds chirping, it was almost like he was back in El Dorado. _How are they getting the heat to do all this? _Gage turned right and almost ran smack into a couple of yaks.

"How cute," Arthur cooed, "A black and white Snuffleupagus."

"Arthur, what are these yaks doing here?"

"In Tibet, yaks are a major natural resource. The milk they produce is turned into a treasured butter product. Yak butter is used in food, tea, candles, and even used to make tremendous sculptures. So don't be surprised when Tibetans invent cold fusion from the curdled milk of yaks."

"Do they eat them?"

"No, many devout monks are vegetarians. Tibetans often left yaks in the care of monks to prevent them from slaughter, meaning somebody probably brought these beasties here to prevent them from becoming McYaks."

To the left of the yaks was a niche in which there was a green statue with markings on the bottom and a hole big enough to fit a piece of wood in. "That's a statue of Buddha," Arthur explained. "The holy man responsible for creating the Buddhist religion. Before becoming a deity, Buddha was known as Sid'Artha, a man from India who transcended worldly suffering becoming a paragon of spiritual perfection."

"What does the scripture on the base of the statue say?" Gage asked.

"Let's see… 'To Aunt Edna, hope you're feeling Buddha, Cousin Morty."

"Huh?"

"Just kidding, it actually says 'The Shrine of the Animal Realm: to enlighten the savage." Gage walked back past the footbridge. On the wall was more scripture. Gage had Arthur translate it. "All forms on the Wheel of Life suffer. The source of all misery is ignorance. The true path to deliverance is blocked by vice and falsehoods. Knowledge of the virtues will reveal the true path." Next to it was six colorful symbols. "Those symbols represent the Holy Buddhist Mantra: 'Om, Ma, Ni, Pad, Me, Hum. It means 'Om, a jewel in the lotus.'" Gage walked past and came to a wall grate. Even through his Jumpsuit, Gage could feel the heat.

"I wonder where this leads," Gage thought out loud.

"Maybe if we have time, we can find out," Arthur suggested. To the left of the grate was a white brick path. Gage followed the path around a corner and up a long flight of stairs. At the top he found a hexagon-shaped building with windows surrounding almost all of the sides. "Now this is interesting, the walls of this building are made of a slightly translucent paper to allow sun to pass through, reminds me of a Greenhouse."

"A Greenhouse in the Himalayas?"

"I know, isn't that like looking for an ice needle in a butter haystack on a very hot day? I don't think I quite got the hang of this simile thing yet."

"Nope, keep trying," Gage said as he walked inside.

The building was indeed a Greenhouse. The single room was surrounded on most sides by withering vegetable plants and small fruit trees. A big withering tree stood in the center inside a pool of water with lotuses sprinkled around it. Gage stared at the tree.

"Ooh, a new face on the mountain!" Gage turned and saw an old man holding a pruning tool. "Welcome," he greeted. "I am Imul, keeper of the Greenhouse and the shrine."

"Uh… nice to meet you," Gage replied.

"Ask him some questions, Gage," Arthur stage whispered. "Ask him if he knows his slip is showing?"

"Tell me about the Greenhouse," Gage requested.

"Gladly, Traveler," the Gardener said just before he did a quick sneeze. "To sustain the brothers of our order, we grow our own food. Heat from tunnels below the monastery sustains the crops and even allows the Wishing Tree to thrive."

_That explains the vegetation and grass, _Gage thought. "What is the Wishing Tree?"

The Gardener gestured to the tree at the center of the Greenhouse. "This is the Wishing Tree. It is very old and sacred. The fruit it bears is a treasure, said to grant you any request. However, the tree has been sick lately. I think the roots may have been afflicted."

"What's wrong with the roots?"

"I don't know, the tree should've grown fruit weeks ago. I went into the tunnels to inspect the roots and I found that they were rotten and sickly."

Imul seemed almost ashamed at this so Gage decided to change the subject. "What kind of crops do you grow here?"

"We grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables here," the Gardener explained. "However, the crops have been sick lately." He sneezed again, this time harder. "I'm sorry, but my cold seems to be getting worse."

"In this place, I'm not surprised," Arthur muttered from inside Gage's helmet.

"How did you catch your cold?" Gage asked.

"I have not been able to give the Pretas their offering. I know that is why the crops are dying. The hungry spirits have been offended. They blame me for this failure and given me this cold."

"Who are the Pretas?"

"One of the Six Realms of Unenlightenment is the Realm of the Pretas, torturous spirits damned for gluttony in previous lives. These ghosts live in our world, constantly tantalized by material possessions. It is the duty of our brotherhood to alleviate all sufferings, especially those in the Realm of the Pretas."

Gage noticed a yellow Buddha shrine at the opposite end from the entrance. "Is that the shrine you were speaking of earlier?"

"Yes, the Shrine of the Pretas, the hungry spirits, is in this Greenhouse. I am charged with making offerings to the ravenous spirits."

"What do you offer them?"

"I offer them the fruit of the Wishing Tree."

"Interesting, do you mind if I look around?"

"Certainly."

"Okay, let's see if I got this right," Arthur said. "The Pretas are angry that the Gardener has not been taking care of the Wishing Tree and are now punishing him by rotting away the crops and giving him the cold. I'd still like to know where the dancing Chihuahuas fit in all this."

Gage chuckled and studied the Wishing Tree. Just like the Gardener said, it looked very bad. The trunk was gray and peeling away. There were no signs of life anywhere on the tree. Gage spotted a grate to the right. He opened it and climbed down the metal rungs that served as a ladder. Once he was deep underground, he dropped his Chameleon disguise and studied the very thin roots.

Arthur said it best, "They look a little sickly to me."

Gage nodded, if only there was some way to heal… heal, that was the answer! Gage removed the pitcher of healing water he got from Atlantis. He poured it into the roots. The roots grew strong and healthy.

"Nice work, Gage, lets check to see if our labors bore fruit." Gage re-donned the Pilgrim's image and climbed back up into the Greenhouse. He went around and climbed up a ladder placed up next to the Wishing Tree. On top of the ladder was a map of the tunnels that ran underneath the monastery and a gardening knife (the same one the Gardener was carrying when Gage arrived). Gage took both of them. The tree had produced an apple-like fruit. Gage took that as well. He then went around to the yellow Buddha shrine. Unlike the green Buddha shrine outside, the yellow one had a clenched fist with the other hand holding a metal plate. There was Buddhist markings on the bottom. "The Shrine of the Pretas Realm," Arthur read. "To sate their eternal hunger."

"Let's see what happens if one were to make an offering to the shrine," Gage said. He took the fruit from the Wishing Tree and placed it on the plate. There was a flash of yellow light and the Buddha's clenched hand opened to reveal a yellow orb.

"I don't know what this is, but it might come in handy," Gage said studying the orb.

"Maybe we could give the Qou'Thalas that instead of the Legacy."

"I don't think they would accept that, Arthur. Let's check out the steam tunnels." Gage placed the orb in his temporal pocket and descended into the steam tunnels once again.

Through a dark tunnel, Gage came into a cavern. Steam ascended from pockets of magma down below. There were two tunnels leading in different directions.

"Gage, don't panic, but I think we stumbled into a Turkish prison," Arthur commented.

Gage took out the steam tunnel map and studied it. He took the tunnel at the far end of the cavern. This tunnel was illuminated by yellow liken. He came to a fork in the passage, or at least the map showed a fork, but one of the extensions was cut off by a boulder. There was a stick suspiciously placed in between the boulder and the open passageway. When Gage pulled it, the boulder slid in front of the other passageway. Gage decided to follow the passageway that was now open. Gage went down the passageway, through another steam vent, and up to another intersection. Gage kept following the open passageways until he came to a dead end, there was nowhere to go.

But up.

There were metal rings embedded into the wall. Gage climbed them and exited the tunnels into a small tent. A man with long dark hair and dressed in fine robes was studying something on a desk.

Gage gasped audibly which caught the attention of the man who turned around and slugged Gage temporarily disrupting his Chameleon image. Gage threw his arms out to grab something. He did grab something, but it wasn't enough to keep him from tumbling back down into the steam tunnels.

"Gage, are you all right?" Arthur asked.

"I think so, I don't feel anything broken." Gage looked at the object he grabbed just before he was hit. It was a long red sword.

"MY SWORD!" A voice cried which Gage heard through the speakers that were tied in to the Translator Biochip. Gage saw the grate open.

"Uh… Gage, can I make a suggestion? LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Good idea," Gage said and took off back the way he came. When he came to the intersection, he quickly pulled the lever rolling the boulder in front of the passageway he just came out of. Gage heard pounding and a voice cry out like a wounded animal.

"That was a close one," Arthur said. "Who do you think that guy was?"

"I don't know, but he clearly doesn't belong in Shangri-La." Gage could still hear pounding so he decided to take the passageway that was now open. He came into a small room. There was a Buddha statue on his left and a mural right in front of him. The mural looked like schematics of the inside of the Buddha's body.

"It's nice," Arthur critiqued. "But I prefer the Bull-Leaping Buddha on black velvet."

"Can you tell me anything useful?"

"This mural is a representation of the Buddha, much like the statue on the left but this one is apparently depicting the inside of the Buddha's body. Hmmm… I wonder where they keep the x-rays of the smoking Buddha?"

"Can you at least translate the writing on the wall?"

"Loosely translated, it says 'channel your energy to obtain the enlightenment you seek.'"

Gage put his hand on the statue. It was sticky. Arthur analyzed it and concluded that the statue was made of yak butter. Unfortunately there was nothing else he could do so he traced his way back to the Greenhouse.

Emerging into the Greenhouse, Gage was met by the Gardener who all but hugged him. "Buddha be praised!" He cried. "The tree has been healed and the crops have been saved!" He sniffed, "Why even my cold is gone! Someone must've appeased the Pretas."

"I'm glad everything worked out for you, Imul, I must go now."

"Farewell, new friend, I hope to talk more with you later."

"Wow, Keith Richards hasn't changed at all," Arthur commented as Gage left the Greenhouse.

Gage returned to the spot where he landed. Once there, he went up the steps into the Gatehouse. The Gatehouse was basically one big room with stair cases leading up to platforms. Gage went up one of them and came face-to-face with a large monk wearing an angular shaped hat, orange and purple robes and carrying a quarterstaff.

"Greetings, stranger," the monk said bowing. "Do you wish to cross the bridge?"

"Yes."

"You must give the offering of the initiate before you can cross the bridge and enter Shangri-La." Any doubts Gage had about whether or not this was Shangri-La went out the window.

"What kind of offering are you talking about?"

"It has always been the tradition for an aspen seeking induction into our order to give the offering of a silk scarf before he can cross the bridge."

"The man has a taco for a hat and now he wants to add a silk scarf to his ensemble," Arthur cracked. "Look at that black eye, no wonder the other monks beat him up."

Gage realized that he did have a silk scarf, the one he got from the Egyptian boat in Atlantis. He took it out of his temporal pocket and handed it to the Gatekeeper. "Does this scarf allow me to cross the bridge?"

The monk studied the scarf for a minute before saying, "Welcome to our Order, Initiate. Go back down the steps and I will extend the bridge for you. For the protection of Shangri-La, I must retract the bridge after you cross. If you wish to cross the bridge again, ring the bell on the other side. Once you cross, seek Lama Dalsden for instructions immediately."

"Where would I find this Lama?"

"In the Prayer Hall, go there and he will teach you."

"Thank you," Gage said and after scanning the guard's image, went downstairs. "Arthur, who was that guy?"

"From his uniform and square shoulders, I would say that that guard is a warrior monk known as a Dob-Dob. Tibetan monasteries allowed Dob-Dobs to practice the art of war for protection. A lot of good he'll be once the Cyrollans and the Qou'Thalas show up." The Dob-Dob was true to his word, the two halves of the large bridge connected and Gage walked across it. Once Gage was safely across, the bridge was parted.

The prayer hall turned out to be the monastery where Gage found Michelle's time code but now, it was extravagant. The room was about the size of a basketball court. Pillars led up to a huge blue Buddha statue. As with the others, there was scripture on the base of it: "The Shrine of the Human Realm: to humbly contain our pride."

A man was in meditation in an alcove. The alcove had hundreds of shelves and each shelf contained a stack of paper sandwiched between two rock-hard bound covers. _That must be the Lama the Dob-Dob was talking about, _Gage thought as he scanned the Lama's image.

The Lama looked up and saw him, "A new Initiate, welcome to Shangri-La. I am Lama Dalsden Giopa. I will be your teacher as you begin your path to Buddha. We lead simple lives here, dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the Unenlightened. We constantly meditate to improve ourselves so that we may one day find Nirvana. It is a hard existence but a good one. You undoubtedly have questions."

"Boy does he," Arthur muttered.

"Who are the Unenlightened?"

"Those who are still trapped on the Wheel of Life, those that die and do not reach Nirvana are sent to one of the Realms of the Wheel to be reborn."

"What is the Wheel of Life?"

"When a person dies, karma forces the spirit to enter one of the six Unenlightened Realms. If the person led a life of vice, then he or she will enter the Realm that embodies that vice. If the spirit does not reach Nirvana, then it is fated to wander; to be reborn again into another of the Unenlightened Realms. The Wheel always turns. Only by learning the virtues that deliver us from the different Realms can one escape and reach Nirvana."

"What is Nirvana?"

"Excellent question, Nirvana is a state of mind, a location of being. It is reached when one has achieved the intellectual perfection of the Buddha. It takes enormous focus, but the reward is eternal peace. We strive every day to reach Nirvana. Now, Initiate, explore the Monastery and pay respect to the shrines to begin your new trek for inner peace."

Gage left the prayer hall and sat on the front steps. He had already visited four out of the six shrines: the yellow one in the Greenhouse, the green one on the mountain path, the black one in the steam tunnels, and the blue one in the prayer hall. That meant there were two more out there, two more that also have scripture on it. Gage descended a small flight of stairs into a small plaza. The temple could be seen nearby along with a small tent and a red Buddha shrine. The text at the bottom read, "The Shrine of the Asura's Realm: to guard the Titans from themselves."

"That small tent seems a little out of place," Arthur observed. "If my history serves me, that yellow flag is Mongolian and if history serves me further, the Great Horde of Genghis Khan was terrorizing Asia about now. Well there goes the neighborhood."

Gage carefully walked up to the tent. A man with broad shoulders, long dark hair, and a long moustache was reading some scrolls.

"Gage, now don't try to panic and try to act natural," Arthur warned. "But that man is wearing the garb of a Khan, a great one at that. I'm sure that's Genghis Khan!" Genghis Khan, one of the most ruthless leaders in history was in Shangri-La. Such a fact was implausible; then again, it wasn't out of the question. But what was he doing here? Even school children knew that Genghis Khan wasn't exactly the picture of tranquility. Yes, what Arthur said earlier was perfect: "There goes the neighborhood."

Gad only had time to scan Khan's image into the Chameleon Jumpsuit's database when Khan looked up and saw him. "Insolent worm," Khan insulted. "You think you can just walk up to the great Khan and be granted an audience? Get out before I feed you to my horse!" Gage was reluctant to leave but the last thing he wanted to do was anger Genghis Khan. He turned to leave. "Wait," Khan called back. "Turn around, let me see your face." Gage turned around and Khan gasped upon seeing Gage's (correction: the Pilgrim's) face. "I recognize you. You're the man who stole my sword! I shall kill you for performing such a treacherous act against the great Genghis Khan!" And with that vow, Khan lashed out at Gage.

* * *

Main Cast

Gage Blackwood, Agent 5: Jerry Rector  
Arthur: Matt Weinhold  
Jhessela: Connie Terwillinger  
William Daughton: David Fenner  
Jack Baldwin: Daniel Mann

Shangri-La Cast  
Pilgrim: Ping Wu  
Gardener: Arsenio "Sonny" Trinidad  
Dob-Dob: Khin-Kyaw Maung  
Lama: Koji Kataoka  
Genghis Khan: Fancisco Viana


	7. Time for Enlightenment

The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

_Gage and Arthur set out to retrieve the three pieces of the Sosiqui Legacy in order to give Earth an advantage over the Cyrollans' ancient enemy, the Qou'Thalas. While investigating Shangri-La, they encountered various obstacles including an outraged Genghis Khan ready to tear Gage limb from limb for stealing his sword.

* * *

_

Time: November 11, 2329  
Place: Launch Gantry, Temporal Security Agency; Appalachian Mountains, Earth

Michelle Visard, Agent 3, was escorted down the hallway to the prison shuttle Roma. On the way, the former TSA agent tried to make small talk with her "escort."

"So, what's Vega Thalon like?"

"I don't know, I've never been there," the guard said emphasizing the pronoun.

"It's a shame about Dr. Sinclair dying."

"Keep moving," the guard ordered. "Elliott Sinclair was a xenophobic scientist bent on destroying the Cyrollans. He deserved his fate."

_Only because the Cyrollans destroyed his home, _Michelle wanted to argue but knew that the guard's reasoning was sound, if somewhat one-dimensional.

"Wait!" William Daughton came running up to them. "Release her," he said to the guard.

"What?" The guard asked astonished.

"You heard me, I said release her!"

"On whose orders?"

"Commissioner Baldwin's orders." Will showed the guard the release slip that Commissioner Baldwin authorized. "The TSA has need of her abilities." The guard looked over the release form, then unlocked Michelle's hand cuffs. With a salute to Will, he walked away. "Come on," Will said.

"Will, what's going on, I thought Commissioner Baldwin wanted me locked up?"

"He did, but he released you on Gage's recommendation."

"Gage asked for my release?"

"I was surprised too, but there's a good reason. We need your language interpreting skills to translate something."

"Will…" Michelle grabbed Will's arm and spun him around. "Will, please, tell me what really is going on."

Will sighed, "All right, here's the deal. As it turns out, the aliens you saw in the past are the Qou'Thalas, enemies to the Cyrollans. The Qou'Thalas want our time travel technology as well as the Legacy."

"The Legacy?"

"I'm not sure what it is either, but according to the Cyrollan Ambassador, it could stand a difference between survival and destruction for Earth. Gage went back to one day before the cities would be destroyed in hoping of finding it. He already found one piece, but it has inscriptions that we need help translating. Your skills as a linguist could help big time."

"All right, let's do it." Michelle knew she could've said no, but she chose not to. TSA Agent or not, she had a duty to protect Earth in any way she could. Still… there were other linguists in the TSA, why did Gage ask for her and not one of them? "Will… is Gage all right?"

The young man gave her a tired smile, "Oh, you know Gage, I'm sure he's just fine."

* * *

Time: April 14, 1219 A.D.  
Place: Shangri-La; the Himalayan Mountains, Central Asia

Gage tumbled out of Genghis Khan's tent. The Mongolian leader was out for blood, his blood.

"Come back, you worthless dog!" Khan insulted. "I am the great Genghis Khan! I demand that you return my sword to me!"

"Yeah, well why don't you make us, Khannie?" Arthur retorted.

"Now is probably not the best time to be insulting him, Arthur," Gage said as Khan came at him with a dagger. Gage ran by Khan and made a mad dash for the Temple. He opened the doors and ran inside, closing them behind him.

When Khan opened the doors to the Temple, he saw an old man praying by a white Buddha shrine. "You, monk," Khan called. "Did a young man run through here?"

"No," the monk replied. "I am the only one here, if you do not believe me, you can see for yourself." Khan cursed in Mongolian and left.

Once he was gone, Gage dropped the Gardener's Chameleon Disguise and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at the white Buddha shrine. This Buddha had his hand to his ear like he was listening for something. The text read, "The Shrine of the God's Realm: to awaken the vane with the music of the jewel."

"Well that didn't go so well," Arthur said.

"Tell me about it," Gage agreed. "What do you think?"

"Maybe you should try approaching Khan in the disguise of someone on his level. Now since we don't have God's image in our database, let's try the Lama." Gage switched disguises and returned to Khan's tent.

"Lama Dolsden," Khan greeted. "I wanted to tell you that I hit one of your monks earlier, the young one at the bridge with the long staff and the mute tongue. He would answer none of my questions."

Gage tried to find some words of wisdom for the Mongolian leader. "Learn from it, Khan, you need to control your rage."

Khan gritted his teeth, "You are right, of course. I've been having trouble remembering your teachings. Words just don't seem to stay in my head."

"How goes it?" Gage asked neutrally.

Khan sighed, "My search for the Siddha's secret goes poorly. I will waste no more time here answering riddles."

"Who is this Siddha?" Gage asked.

Khan chuckled, "Still testing me, huh? Well I remember the tale. Biwa'wa was a monk who studied here over a century ago. Somehow he abused his powers of faith. He died soon after and was denied Nirvana because of his corruption forcing him onto the Wheel of Life. You and the other monks seem to think that he will return some day."

Gage tried to phrase his next question carefully, trying to hide his naïveté. "What is your opinion of the Wheel of Life?"

"Wheel of Life? Bah, I never did believe in reincarnation, but I know that the secret of transmutation is connected with the Wheel of Life and the Six Realms of Unenlightenment. I thought, perhaps, the six shrines around the monastery were connected with the Siddha's secret. But I couldn't find it."

"What is transmutation?"

"It is the ability to turn one element into another, lead into gold. I need it to arm my horde. The rebellions in the East have been draining my resources and my campaign is becoming desperate. And now, my search here has failed."

"If anything in this place seems like a long lost alien technology, it would be transmutation," Arthur commented. "I don't think the Sosiqui came to Shangri-La to teach the monks a profound way of milking yaks."

"Tell me what you know of the Siddha's Secret," Gage requested.

Khan chuckled again, "Always questioning what I have learned, you are stubborn. The Siddha was supposed to have discovered transmutation."

"I must go now, good luck with your search, Khan."

"Thank you, Lama, I take your blessing in good faith."

Gage left Khan's tent and pondered what he just learned. Khan's views, while one sided, gave Gage an idea. If the Siddha hidden his secret here at Shangri-La, perhaps he did hide it within the six shrines. Gage took out the orb he received from the Pretas Shrine in the Greenhouse. Perhaps the orb was also connected with the Siddha's Secret. He needed more information. He needed both sides of the story. Gage switched from the Lama to Khan. He then went to visit the Lama.

"Khan, I must admit, I am pleasantly shocked to see you," the Lama said. "I had thought from your last outburst that you've given up on the test, thank you for proving me wrong."

"Tell me more about the test."

"You seek the Siddha's Secret, you have discovered that it is hidden here somewhere. But only the Siddha or someone as virtuous as him can claim the secret. So you must travel the true path, to follow the steps of the Siddha."

"Who or what is the Siddha?"

"There have been only a handful of monks who have found the inner strength to become a Siddha. The last Siddha to grace this monastery lived here a hundred years ago. Old myths say that Siddhas were men of great devotion who could perform miracles of faith. But most people, driven by material wealth, only care to learn about the Siddha's power of transmutation."

"Transmutation?"

"You would know it as the power of the Philosopher's Stone, the ability to turn lead into gold, or one element into another."

"Where is the Secret hidden?"

"Myths of the last Siddha say that his powers of faith twisted his humility. His pride prevented him from reaching Nirvana upon his death sending him back on the Wheel of Life. My master once told me that the Siddha hidden his Secret somewhere on the grounds of this monastery so he could retrieve it when he returned. No one knows where."

"How will the Siddha return?"

"If he died before escaping the Wheel of Life, then he is still being reincarnated to one of the six Unenlightened Realms. One day, he may be reborn into the Human Realm and return here."

"What is the True Path?"

"That is not an easy question, Khan. The world you know as reality is clouded by illusion, shrouded in deception and vice. Only by walking the True Path can one pierce falsehood and achieve the peace needed to escape the Realms of the Wheel of Life. The first step on the path is to meditate at the six Shrines and find their purpose. As Buddhists, we need to alleviate the suffering of all those in the Unenlightened Realms." Fortunately for Gage, he had already been to the shrines.

"Tell me about the Realms," Gage requested.

"Which Realm do you wish to know about?"

Gage asked about each of the Realms except for the Pretas, which he already learned from the Gardener. When he asked about the God's Realm, the Lama replied, "This is the Realm of the high gods. It is for the extremely vane and self-centered. The Symbol for Salvation is the music of the Holy Mantra."

When Gage asked about the Hell's Realm, the Lama replied like he was uncomfortable with talking about it, "Hell, truly an awful place. This is the domain of the wicked and sinful. Those tortured for the actions of the past suffer in both intense heat and freezing cold. The Symbol for Salvation is the purifying heat that burns away all sins."

When Gage asked about the Animal Realm, the Lama replied with a question, "What is the source of all misery?"

Gage recalled reading about misery on the side of the mountain just below the monastery. He answered, "The answer is ignorance."

"Congratulations, you are one step closer to completing the path. The Animal Realm is a kingdom of ignorance. Although swift and savage, the animals lack intellectual cunning, the ability to learn. Here is the Salvation Symbol for the Animal Realm: the Book of Knowledge." The Lama reached into one of the cubbies and took out a bound book and placed it in Gage's lap.

The Lama seemed glad to talk about the Human Realm. "Yes, our world. It is a realm of illusion, where most people don't realize that their existence is undesirable. But the Human Realm holds the most potential to reach Nirvana. To do so, one must achieve humility. The Symbol for Salvation is the alms bowl of the pauper, the humblest of objects to control pride."

Gage finally asked about the Asura's Realm. "The mighty Titans dwell in the Asuras Realm. They care only for war. The Asuras fight an ever-losing war against the gods to win the gods' glittering Realm. The only salvation the Asuras understand is a large flaming sword that burns with truth."

Finally, Gage said good-bye to the Lama. He turned and went to the Blue Buddha Shrine. The text said that it was the Shrine of the Human Realm. And the Lama said that the Symbol for Salvation was the alms bowl of the pauper, a beggar.

_Wait a minute, _Gage thought. _Padros was an Atlantian beggar! _Gage removed the bowl he got at Atlantis.

"I wonder," Gage muttered. Gage placed the bowl on the outstretched hand of the Buddha. The other hand opened to reveal a blue orb, a perfect companion to the yellow one he got in the Greenhouse.

"If what I suspect is true," Gage said. "The Siddha's Secret is the piece of the Legacy that we're seeking and these orbs must be the key to getting it. Let's go retrieve the other four."

Gage wanted to retrieve the stone from the black Buddha shrine in the steam tunnels but how to do that? The Lama said that the Symbol for Salvation was fire and you can't carry fire, not without getting burned. Gage sighed and took out the map of the steam tunnels.

He gasped. The steam vents were represented by fire on the map. Could that be the fire he needed? Gage looked around and saw a grate on the other side of the room. He quickly climbed down the ladder into the steam tunnels. Using the map for guidance, Gage configured two of the steam vents to project heat into the black Buddha room. When Gage moved the final door into place completing his solitary path, Arthur announced rather excitedly. "I'm detecting a definite shift in temperature. You did it, Gage!" Gage traced his way back to the black Buddha. The statue was now a melting pile of yak butter. In the middle of the mess was a gold chalice with a black stone. "Great, we found the Holy Grail too, this is just a red letter day," Arthur said sarcastically.

Gage traced his way back to the steam vent closest to the Greenhouse. From there, he took the only passageway he hadn't taken yet. This passageway led to a side grate. Gage kicked it open and climbed out. He was now on the southern path. The yaks and green Buddha shrine could be seen. Gage inserted the Book of Knowledge into the slot near the bottom of the statue. The slot slid shut and the green Buddha's hand opened revealing a green stone.

Gage made his way back through the steam tunnels up to the prayer hall. He left the prayer hall and went down to the plaza. Careful not to be seen by Khan, Gage inserted Khan's sword into the hand of the red Buddha statue. The sword vanished in a burst of flame and a red orb revealed itself. Gage took the red orb, crept past Khan's tent and headed over to the temple. He had five orbs, but he still needed one from the white Buddha statue. But like the black Buddha, the white Buddha did not have an outstretched hand, but rather the hand was held to its ear like it was listening for something.

_To awaken the vane with the music of the jewel._

The Buddha was listening for music.

Gage backed up and his hand touched a cylinder behind him.

"A deep 'Om' was played."

"Whoa, what was that?" Gage turned around and saw several cylinders hanging from a bar. Upon touching one of the cylinders, the 'om' was played again.

"Jeez, when did Andy Warhol start designing Tibetan Camble Soup Juke Boxes?" Arthur cracked.

Gage started to turn the cylinders to play the Buddhist mantra. When he got to the 'Pad' cylinder, it made a rather loud creaking sound.

"Don't worry, Gage, all we have to do is go to the nearest thirteenth century Drug Store and pick up a can of WD-40 or maybe stop by a Himalayan Mobile On-The-Run store for some oil."

Oil!

Gage removed the bowl of olive oil he used as part of his disguise to get into the Atlantian temple. He poured it into the cylinder and turned him. This time, the cylinder gave off a 'Pad' sound. Gage finished playing the mantra and the white Buddha's hand opened revealing a white stone. Now that Gage had all six stones, he could probably use them to get access to the artifact.

Gage entered the temple. The center of the main room was indented into the ground about twenty feet and over fifty feet in diameter. It also contained a pillar that rose all the way through the ceiling. To his right was a mural of the Buddha entering the six Realms of Unenlightenment holding the Symbols for Salvation for each Realm.

Gage walked down a flight of stairs to the center of the temple. The mural that he saw on the wall was depicted on the floor, but obviously on a much bigger scale. Walking around the main pillar, Gage saw a white Buddha statue inserted into the pillar. This white Buddha, however, was positioned differently. In one hand it was holding a lute, a musical instrument similar to the harp while the other hand was cupped and outstretched like it was waiting for something small and round.

Like a stone.

Gage removed the white stone from his temporal pocket and placed it in the Buddha's hand. There was a shifting of gears as a flight of steps rose up. This must've been how the Siddha's test worked. You obtain a stone from a Buddha shrine by offering the symbol for enlightenment. You then place the stones in the corresponding Buddha statues in the central column and a flight of steps would rise to the next level. The Legacy must be at the top.

Gage also noticed scripture on the stairs. Arthur said that they depicted the trials and tribulations of the Siddha Biwaw'wa.

* * *

_The inscriptions speak of the path of the Siddha Biwa'wa. Denied Nirvana by pride, the Siddha Biwa'wa found himself in the Realm of the Gods, complacent in their heavenly heights. Only with the Buddha's song-filled voice was he able to escape into the next realm: the battlefield of the Asuras Titans._

_The Titans know nothing more than to fight the Gods for their glittering realm and fight amongst their selves. Biwa'wa found himself caught within the frenzy; until he followed the light of Buddha's flaming sword. The Titans cowered before it as Biwa'wa escaped and entered the Kingdom of Animals._

_In his new form, he hunted with animal cunning forgetting all of Buddha's teachings. But something inside him stirred when Buddha appeared and offered him the Book of Knowledge and he learned once more. He escaped but found himself in the bowls of Hell._

_Biwa'wa heard the howls of the damned echoed the very hatred they were punished for. Terrible flames licked over him by day; by night he shivered within the hells of cold. The the Buddha showed him the purifying fire that cleansed his sins sending him traveling to the Realm of the Pretas._

_Then he found himself among the Pretas, tortured creatures tantalized by all things material. Biwa'wa never felt such hunger until the Buddha descended again and let him tasted the spiritual fruit. Biwa'wa wanted no more. The Buddha finally allowed him to return to the Human Realm_

_Humbly, Biwa'wa would have to begin the path anew to regain his former peace. He would need to overcome the vice of pride, the pride that made him think he was better than others, so his atonement would only end by helping another. Then the Siddha could be at peace.

* * *

_

Gage found himself with no more stones in his inventory and no more Buddha statues to put them in. He looked towards the top of the pillar and saw a giant golden lotus. "A jewel in the lotus," Gage said. "Om ma ni pad me hum."

The petals of the lotus started to spin around. They then lowered to become steps. Gage climbed up and found him self in an attic-like chamber. The walls were painted in a light blue. Two of the walls had painting and writings on them. A third had a golden lotus-shaped object and the fourth simply had a pair of eyes with a red lens in between them.

One of the paintings showed a picture of three men (the Siddhas, Gage assumed) surrounding a pyramid-shaped object. Gage took particular notice that one of the Siddhas had long dark hair, brown eyes and a delicate face. "That man at the center looks kind of familiar," Gage commented.

"Yeah, I think I've seen that man before too… do you think Michael Jackson is really that old?"

"If I'm reading this mural right," Gage said ignoring Arthur's comment. "It shows the Siddhas transforming a pyramid-shaped object into another form!"

"Are you kidding me? Nuts, fine, more work! Now watch Arthur transform from simply annoyed to pretty bloody ANGRY!"

"Arthur, stop shouting."

"I AM NOT SHOUTING!"

"Arthur!"

"Oh, sorry, Gage." Gage looked at the lotus object. The image within the pyramid-shaped object in the mural was also depicted as lotus-shaped. That meant that the object was the artifact they were looking for. But Gage had a feeling that the Qou'Thalas won't accept a Legacy consisting of two pyramid-shaped artifacts and a lotus-shaped artifact. There must be a way to transform it. Perhaps the other mural had a clue.

The other mural actually had scripture on it which Gage had Arthur translated, "The infinite Buddha came to our monastery long ago with the knowledge of three secrets: life, time, and matter. He spoke of the True Path, a way to live by his virtues so that we could also share in his perfection. And he taught the Siddhas of matter, that everything in the universe was composed of one energy that could be perceived, understood, and controlled." So the Sosiqui entrusted the monks of Shangri-La with the power to transform matter. That must be how Gage could turn the lotus artifact into a pyramid one. But who did he know who could do that? Only the Siddhas were taught such ability.

Gage finally looked through the lens. He could see pass the ravine and the pilgrim that was still face-down on the ground. Gage suddenly had a realization. He looked at the mural depicting the Siddhas. One of them looked just like the pilgrim.

Everything clicked into place. The pilgrim was the Siddha, who has returned from the Wheel of Life. He must have the power to transform the lotus into its true form! Gage grabbed the lotus artifact and ran down the stairs.

* * *

Outside, Gage approached the pilgrim disguised as the Dob-Dob.

"You are the Siddha," he said, more as a fact than a question.

The pilgrim sat up, "You have nearly completed the True Path. Now, for the final step, you must do one more thing: you must shed all the trappings and illusions that surround you."

Gage was confused by that comment so he temporarily dismissed it, "What are you seeking?"

"What most seek when they come here, enlightenment; to join with the great Buddha and experience Nirvana. But before I can transcend, I must achieve something I could never grasp: humility. I must confront my pride. Are you a humble being?"

"Actually, I haven't given it much thought, I don't know."

"Well then, Traveler, always ask your self the questions you can not answer and continue seeking. There are answers here, everywhere."

"Tell me about the monastery."

The Siddha gestured his hand to the prayer hall and temple. "This is the monastery of Shangri-La. The monks here have achieved complete inner serenity. I have traveled many long months to get to this place, but the true journey begins here at Shangri-La itself. Physically traveling here was simple compared to the task imposed by the True Path."

"Tell me about the True Path."

"Most people walk about in a word of illusions, clouded by vices and deception. But there is a path that cuts through all illusions, a path of deliverance. It is a path that begins with understanding the virtues of the spirit and embracing its truths."

Gage removed the lotus artifact from his temporal pocket. "I've finished the path and have the artifact. Can you transform it to its proper form?"

The Siddha took the artifact and set it down, "I can not transform this to its proper form until you have completed the path. To finish the path, you must be true to yourself. To be true to yourself, you must be true to others. Shrouding one's self in illusions deludes others and leads you off the path."

Gage turned inward to talk to Arthur, "Arthur, did the Siddha say anything that might suggest a final step?"

"Yeah, when you first spoke to him, he said to shed all the trappings and illusions that surround you."

"Shed all the… you don't think he means…"

"Whoa, Gage, keep your shirt on (no, seriously, keep it on, I don't think I should be the one to see your fleshy hide), we'll figure something out before it comes to that." Gage and Arthur were both silent as the Siddha waited patiently. "Call me crazy, but I think the Siddha knows who you really are. Why else would he speak to us this way? It's as if he knew all along that we were looking for something. If I'm right, he's asking you to drop your Chameleon Disguise." Gage was nervous about revealing his true image to someone from the past, but at this point Gage was willing to try just about anything. The image of the Dob-Dob faded to reveal the Chameleon Jumpsuit's true form. The Siddha, to Gage's surprise, wasn't shocked or scared at seeing it. In fact, he looked satisfied, like Gage just proved something.

"I have dropped my disguise and completed the path," Gage announced. "Can you transform this for me?"

The Siddha nodded, "You have completed the True Path, Traveler. You are indeed worthy." The Siddha placed his hands over the lotus-shaped artifact. The artifact began spinning. As it spun, it got smaller until it became a pyramid object. The object floated into Gage's hands. "You have journeyed far, Traveler, and you have completed the True Path by honoring the ancient virtues. And you have saved my soul by allowing me to help another. I am on a new path now, I am eternally grateful. I wish you peace, Traveler, and success."

"And I wish the same to you, Siddha, farewell, and thank you." Right in front of the Siddha, Gage jumped back to the TSA.

* * *

Main Cast  
Gage Blackwood, Agent 5: Jerry Rector  
Michelle Visard, Agent 3: Michele Scarabelli  
Arthur: Matt Weinhold  
William Daughton: David Fenner  
TSA Guard: Eric Dallaire

Shangri-La Cast  
Pilgrim/Siddha: Ping Wu  
Genghis Khan: Francisco Viana  
Gardener: Arsenio "Sonny" Trinidad  
Lama: Koji Kataoka  
Dob-Dob: Khin-Kyaw Maung


	8. Time and Again

The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

_After escaping from Genghis Khan's clutches, Gage and Arthur learned that Khan was taking the Siddha's Test and decided to do the same. To complete the test, one must offer the symbol for salvation to the shrines to the six Realms of Unenlightenment. Once they receive a Stone of Salvation, the Initiate must then place the stone into the corresponding Buddha statue at the center of the Temple.  
__In the secret attic of the Temple, Gage discovered that the Sosiqui entrusted the priests of Atlantis, El Dorado, and Shangri-La with each of the three segments of the Legacy. He also discovered that the pilgrim that had been lying prostrate on the ground since his arrival was in fact the Siddha back from the Wheel of Life. Only by answering the Siddha's final question was Gage able to transform the lotus-shaped artifact into a pyramid one.

* * *

_

Date: November 11, 2329  
Place: TSA Headquarters; Appalachian Mountains, Earth

Chief Technician William Daughton scanned the pyramid object that Gage got back from Atlantis for the fifteenth time. Next to him, Michelle Visard, Agent 3, the first person to warn TSA of the advancing Qou'Thalas threat just crossed her arms. Commissioner Jack Baldwin leaned against the main control panel.

The three turned as Gage entered carrying the second pyramid artifact. "Excellent work, Gage," Baldwin congratulated. "While you were gone, Daughton and Michelle discovered something remarkable about the first artifact."

"We concentrated our search on the overlapping symbols," Michelle began. "With a little luck, we found formulae buried underneath several layers of encryption."

"And this is the remarkable part," Will took over. "The formulae detail the physics necessary for time travel, the very same physics that powers our own Jumpsuits.

"So the secret of time travel was buried within our past," Gage concluded. "And then Doctor Sinclair invents that same technology centuries later."

"Right," Michelle confirmed.

Gage placed the second pyramid object next to the first one. Suddenly the two started to glow. Strands of energy came together and fired a beam of light at Gage.

"Look out!" Michelle threw the two of them to the ground and the light only destroyed a diagnostic screen.

"Thanks," Gage said

"Any time."

Sections of the pyramid objects were glowing and forming a pattern on the diagnostic table. "Good Lord, what is this thing?" Baldwin muttered.

Getting up, Gage looked at the main view screen which was displaying the current position of the Qou'Thalas. "The Qou'Thalas have entered the Earth System?"

Baldwin nodded, "Nothing has deterred them. They've ignored the Cyrollan Ambassador's plea for peace talks and shrugged off any advance made by the Defense Fleet. The Symbiotry seems powerless; it's all up to us now."

"I'll find that last artifact," Gage vowed. "I won't let any of the sacrifices be in vane!" And he turned and marched out under the concerned glance of his coworkers.

* * *

Time: January 28, 529 A.D.  
Place: El Dorado; Andes Mountains, Peru.

Gage appeared back on the platform in between the balloon landing and the Temple entrance. As far as general time was concerned, he had only been gone for a few seconds. Gage called up his El Dorado Chameleon Database and assumed the image of Hachayo, the Farm Boy. He then went up to the Temple.

The room inside the Temple was not very big. In addition to the gold leafs he used to make the Atlantian medallion, there were paintings on the wall, paintings that seemed to tell a story. Gage had Arthur interpret them.

"The pictograms surrounding the mural speak of the Great Story of the First Shaman. He was instructed by the Spirits of Time and Space to hide one of the three totems of tremendous power from the fury of their powerful children: two winged brothers. To aid him in this task, the Shaman called upon the power of the Element Spirits. They showed him a secret place for the Totem. Once the Totem was hidden, the Shaman beseeched the Element Spirits to guard it and they have ever since. Many generations have passed since then, but the pictograms say that the Spirits of Time and Space will beseech a young warrior to save the Totem from the Brothers, who have returned to claim it. However, the warrior would have to overcome the Elemental Guardians protecting the Totem. The rest of the mural is unfinished, Gage, I assume that's what the scribe is working on."

"I have a sneaking suspicion that the Totem is the artifact we're looking for," Gage muttered. "So we might have to learn all we can about this Great Story."

It was then that the Scribe who was working on it turned and saw Gage. "Ah, Hachayo, I should've known it was you," he said kindly. "What can I do for you, boy?"

"What are you working on?" Gage asked.

"Normally I would be working on my Pompas on a beautiful day like this." A Pompas was the drawings that covered the landscape, similar to crop circles. It was believed that ancient South American cultures actually used them as a history book. "But today I have the honor of finishing a story that has not had an ending for many generations."

"Will you tell me the story?"

"It is the oldest story known to us. It is a long tale, Hachayo, and unfortunately I don't have time to tell it. You see the Shaman often, ask him next time you see him."

"Why has the story never been finished?"

"All of the past Shamans before have had dreams of the story, but the Spirits have never revealed the ending. It has been unfinished for generations. But soon we will know."

"How will you know what to draw?"

"The Shaman, he dreams his visions in the Ritual of Seeing and then he confides them to me what he has seen so it can be chronicled for all our people. You know our Shaman, ask him about such things when you see him next."

"I will. Thank you."

"Thank you for the visit, Hachayo."

From what Gage could get off of the murals in the Temple, the Shaman flies over the Totem's resting place in a balloon. Gage figured that he needed to trace the path of the First Shaman to find the Totem.

Gage exited the temple and returned to the spot where he landed. To the right was a dirt path. He followed it around the perimeter of the Temple to the adjoining mesa. A large stone building complete with a balloon on the balcony loomed up a hill. _That must be the Aviary where the Shaman lives, _Gage figured as he stepped onto the mesa and began ascending to the hill.

"Stop where you are!" Gage saw a guard standing at a niche in the stone wall. A balloon was dangling behind him. "Sorry, Hachayo, but you can not visit the Shaman today. You must return to your farm, it will soon become dangerous for you to be on the Central Mesa.

"But why can't I see the Shaman?"

"The Shaman is inside the Aviary completing long rituals, he is not to be disturbed!"

Senor Scowls is taking his post seriously," Arthur commented. "We need to either sweet talk our way past him or figure out a diversion."

"Why would it be dangerous to be here?"

"There is nothing to worry about, as long as you go back home, you will be safe. Enemies are coming that mean to hurt our people, but the Warriors of the Wind and Flame are ready and will defend our city bravely."

"I think we need to get rid of the guard somehow," Arthur whispered. "We want to see the Shaman, but the guard won't let anyone pass."

"What is a Warrior of Wind and Flame?"

"A Cloud Walker, an Aviator. Only the strongest of our people can join the Warriors of Wind and Flame. We call upon the fear of Kuaqula the fire spirit and the breath of the air spirit, Kohabota, for the burning air that lifts our balloons into the sky!" With each word, the guard got more and more excited.

"Maybe we can put the guard to sleep," Arthur offered. "Gage, go talk to him about your love life… oh wait, I forgot, you don't have one."

"Is that your balloon dangling off the side of the cliff?" Gage asked.

"Yes, it is my Cloud Piercer, my war balloon. When the time comes I will use it to join my brother's in battle and fight for our city!"

"Well you convinced me," Gage lied. "Good-bye."

"Farewell, Hachayo, remember what I have told you."

"Gage, you're not going to let some measly guard stop you, are you?" Arthur asked as Gage stepped out of the guard's sight.

"No, I'm not, Arthur." Gage ducked in between the stone wall and a bush. On the other side of the stone wall was where the balloon was tied, to a metal pole. Gage removed the knife he got from the Greenhouse in Shangri-La and used it to cut the rope. He then dove around the corner. The guard had disappeared from view. When Gage stepped up to the spot where the guard used to be, he saw the guard literally hanging for his life from the balloon's tether rope, cursing in a foreign language.

"Hang around," Arthur joked.

Gage continued on his way up the path and into the Aviary. Inside there were only two doorways, one leading to the balloon and the other being blocked by a guard.

"How did you get in here?" The guard asked. "This is no place for boys. Go back to your farm, Hachayo."

"Goquar, stay your hand, allow the boy in," another voice commanded. An old man with snow white hair and brown eyes dressed in a ceremonial cloak walked up and put a reassuring hand on the guard's shoulder. "I have a need to speak with him. Don't worry; I do not believe he is armed." The guard reluctantly nodded and left. The old man, the Shaman, led Gage into his sanctuary. After scanning the Shaman's image and despite his better judgment, Gage sat down Indian style on the floor. "So, Hachayo, have you come to hear a story?"

"Shaman, please tell me about the Spirits."

The Shaman nodded nostalgically, "Ah, the old teachers. There have been six. Most only know of the four elemental spirits, fire, earth, air, and water. But the other two, they are different."

"Tell me about the other two Spirits."

"Most will find this difficult, but I have a feeling you would understand. The two other Spirits are Time and Space. Time consumes all, Space encompasses all; together they are all. They show me what was and what is to come in the Ritual of Seeing."

"What is the Ritual of Seeing?"

"When I fly over the pompas in my balloon, the Spirits show me a place that no other eyes could look upon. The Dream Place, I see the ancient lines traced by our forefathers moving across the plains like snakes until I see images of yesterday and tomorrow."

"Please speak of the four element spirits."

"They used to live among us long ago. They showed us how to master our lands with knowledge. They showed us how to bring water to our plateaus and make wells. They showed us how to harness fire and air to fly into the skies! Then they left."

"Where?"

"To the dream place. They still speak to me in the Ritual of Seeing.

"Please, Shaman, tell me the story."

"Very well, long ago Spirits of Time and Space begot the four element spirits. Together, they bore many children including twin brothers. Two great birds, who each found mighty tribes. When the Spirits disappeared, The Brothers fought across many lands for the right to inherit the sacred Totem."

"The Sacred Totem?"

"Yes, this Totem was said to contain the secrets of the Spirits of Time and Space. Fearing that the Brothers would abuse its Power, the Spirits asked a young man in the village to help them."

"Doesn't this sound eerily familiar?" Arthur asked.

Gage nodded, it sounded like the stories he discovered at Atlantis and Shangri-La.

"Why did the Brothers fight?"

"They would not share in the inheritance of their elders, both arrogantly believing the other to be unworthy of claiming the totem."

"You spoke earlier that the spirits asked a young man to guard the totem. Who was this man?"

"He was the first Shaman. Before the Brothers came to the Village, the Spirits of Time and Space broke the totem up into three pieces and gave the Shaman one of them to hide. Knowing the Brothers' power, the Shaman pleaded with the Element Spirits for guidance."

"Did the Spirits guide the young man?"

"Yes. The Spirits of fire and air lifted him into the sky and showed him a hiding place. Once there, he bid the spirits to guard the Totem and they have ever since. This happened many generations ago and yet… there is still more."

"More? More did he say?" Arthur quipped.

"Where was the hiding place?"

"Somewhere near the Temple concealed by two elements and guarded by the rest."

Another dead end, "Tell me the rest of the story."

"The brothers never found the Totem. They left to search for it far away. Ever since, the Shaman of each generation dreamed of the Brothers' return. But I have had a new dream of the story's end and of another young man."

"And who is this young man?"

"You, Hachayo!" Gage gasped, "Yes, the young man is you, the Spirits have seen something special in you. It is your destiny to save the Totem from destruction! For it has a great purpose! You will finish the story!"

"But how do I save the Totem? I don't even know where it is."

"You must do as the First Shaman did, call on the Elemental Spirits for guidance, they will aid you as they did the First Shaman. You'll also need the talisman I gave you, do you still have it?"

"Uh… of course," Gage said.

"Good, you will need it. You will know what to do with it when the time comes.

"How does the story end?"

The Shaman lowered his head solemnly. "Our city dies. Our warriors all perish in battle valiantly. The Brothers will spare nothing, only one shall survive: the man who will save the Totem from destruction."

"What is the Totem?"

"It is an object that contains the great knowledge of the Spirits. It is meant for all of their children, when they are grown and ready.

"Thank you, Shaman." Gage got up and left the Aviary. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the story meant. The Spirits were the Sosiqui, the warring Brothers are the Cyrollans and the Qou'Thalas and they'll show up tomorrow to fight over the Totem a.k.a. the segment of the Sosiqui artifact. It also explains the three connected triangles found on the murals in the other two time zones. "Okay, what we need to do is trace the path the first Shaman took to hide the Totem. The question is how do we do that?"

"Perhaps it has something to do with that talisman the Shaman mentioned."

"That's right, the talisman!" Gage needed the talisman and there was only one person whom he could get it from: the real Hachayo. But getting it won't be easy. Gage needed to assume the disguise of someone that Hachayo would trust, yet not become protective of the talisman if asked for it and there was only one image in his database that would fit both of those categories: the Shaman.

"He's still asleep?" Arthur asked as Gage walked up to the sleeping farm boy disguised as the Shaman. "What did he do, hit the snooze button on his sun dial? Hey, since he's asleep, I have a gag: warm up the well water and put his hand in it." Arthur snickered.

"Hachayo," Gage called. Hachayo lazily opened his eyes. When he saw Gage as the Shaman, he jumped up.

"Shaman, I had the dream you spoke of, I saw everything you told me I would see!"

"Tell me about it," Gage said trying to get into character.

"I was in your balloon flying over the city. The lines on the pompas moved, they formed pictures, animals, and people! And I heard many other Shamans, they told me to look to the Temple."

"What did you see at the Temple?"

"I saw the Spirits, they said they knew where the Totem was… then I woke up from the dream."

Gage thought this was amusing, but knew he had to get back on track. "Hachayo, do you still have the talisman I gave you?"

The boy immediately gripped something around his neck, a flint arrowhead. "Yes, why, do you need it? You told me I could have it!"

Gage had to phrase his request carefully. "Hachayo, I'm going to have to take back the talisman for a while, I need it for an important ceremony."

Hachayo seemed to sigh in relief. "Of course, my Shaman." He removed the necklace from his body and gave it to Gage.

"Thank you, Hachayo, I must go now."

"Good-bye, Shaman, I can't wait to hear more stories."

Gage headed back to the central mesa. Disguising himself as the farm boy, Gage crept into the Aviary. When the Shaman's bodyguard was looking the other way, Gage stealthily made his way up to the balloon landing.

The Shaman's balloon was the only balloon in the plaza and it was unguarded. This seemed too good to be true. Gage climbed in and studied the heating element which was just a block of flint.

_Wait a second, _Gage thought as he removed the talisman from his Jumpsuit's temporal pocket. The tip of the talisman was also flint. And if Gage recalled his high school science, when two pieces of flint are struck against one another, they produce sparks, or miniature fire! Gage strike the flint block with the flint talisman. As predicted, the sparks lit the heating element which produced hot air filling the balloon. The balloon started to rise.

Gage breathed a sigh of relief. He was approaching the home stretch as Arthur put it. Gage was barely able to stifle a yawn, discovering Agent 3 and the succeeding events have been very draining. In fact, Gage could barely keep his eyes open.

* * *

_In his mind, he saw a wind mill, the very one from Atlantis, he saw the top of the Shangri-La temple, a marching army, countries attacking each other with nuclear weapons, the old Pegasus Machine activating, approaching his past self for help in being cleared of historical sabotage, Agent 3 attacking him in his own apartment, a space battle between the Cyrollans and the Qou'Thalas. He also heard things, every day mundane sounds, people walking and arguing, laser fire, church bells chiming, kids laughing. He felt an overwhelming sense of peace and prosperity.

* * *

_

"Gage… Gage!" Gage opened his eyes. "Earth to Gage, confirm reception!"

"Sorry, Arthur, what were you saying?"

"Nothing, it looked like you zonked out for a moment there."

"I guess I fell asleep." Gage wasn't sure how long he was out but even if it was only for a few seconds, he couldn't stop now. He looked over the edge of the balloon and activated his telescanners. He first zoomed-in on several Nazca lines, one of the shapes looking vaguely like the TSA logo. No clues there, Gage then turned to look at the Temple. The skylight on the roof was arrow-shape and had four strange faces on it. The faces resembled a human, a bear, a cat, and a bird. Gage recorded the image but didn't figure it would be helpful.

Gage then saw a strange shape to the right of the temple. He zoomed in and saw an arrow-shape pool. The Nazca lines formed two giant birds, poised for combat.

Two brothers fighting over the pool.

"That's it!" Gage cried. He descended the balloon and left the Aviary. He made his way around the outer perimeter of the Temple and trekked his way through the jungle down to an arrow-shaped reflecting pool.

Near Gage's foot was a Couatl serpent with a triangular-shaped indentation. The perfect fit for a triangular-shaped talisman.

Gage inserted the talisman into the pedestal. There was a low hum as the pool drained revealing three obelisk pillars in the center with a series of strange heads jetting out from the wall.

"He's single, he time travels, he parts water, ladies and gentlemen, I give you… Gage Blackwood!" Arthur made a sound like it was a lot of people cheering. Gage stepped down a flight of steps and studied the heads. "I think what we have here is a primitive version of the popular arcade game Whack-a-Mole," Arthur cracked. Gage pressed on one of the heads, the man-shaped one. The head depressed for a moment then popped back out, this time with glowing eyes.

"I see," Gage said. "It's some sort of combination lock."

"Yes, this art piece says so much to me, it's as if the heads are saying 'here no evil, speak no evil, see no evil, but the other twenty-one of us are going to have fun.'"

"Not quite what I was thinking, Arthur," Gage said as he brought up the image he took of the Temple roof. The heads must be a key on how to open a hidden temple. Gage pressed the heads in the order that they appeared on the Temple roof. When he depressed the final head, the center of the stair case folded down to reveal a hidden passageway with another stair case.

"Well, I guess you could say we're 'headed' in the right direction," Arthur joked. Gage slammed the side of his helmet. "Ow! How did you find my groin, Gage?"

Gage descended the stairs to a hallway but he didn't get very far before he was assaulted with a fireball. Gage quickly jumped back to the stair case. Gage kicked him self, the Shaman said the First Shaman asked the four elemental spirits to guard it. The Earth spirit protected it by guarding in the ground, the air spirit protected it by providing fog cover, and the water spirit protected it by the pool, so that was the fire element spirit.

"Wow, that was a close one," Arthur commented. "It looks like we're not going any further until we put out that fire."

"Any ideas how?"

"Well let's think about this: the Shaman said that you would need to call upon the elemental spirits as the first Shaman did. Not to put words in Shaman-Palooza's mouth, but he probably meant you need to use the elements to get to the Totem. You already used fire and air when you went up in the balloon; you used earth when you used the talisman and pressed the buttons so that means…"

"That means the only element I'm missing is water. But how can I…?" Gage looked back up at the entrance. He returned to the wading pool. When he exited, the door didn't close back up and as long as he didn't press any of the heads, it wouldn't. The water disappeared when Gage inserted the talisman into the pedestal so if he removed it…

Gage returned to the top and removed the talisman. Water began filling the pool again but instead of filling all the way to the top, it went down into the inner tunnel. Steam erupted from the tunnel's entrance. Gage inserted the talisman once again.

"Way to go, Gage!" Arthur congratulated.

Gage went back into the passageway, this time, he wasn't assaulted with fire.

"Here's gourmet food for thought," Arthur said. "The Shaman thinking you were the farm boy Hachayo confided that he had a dream about the boy. The Shaman said he saw Hachayo save the Totem from destruction and said he had a great destiny. Gage, you were disguised as the farm boy when you met him, do you think he really dreamt about you?"

"I don't know, Arthur, it definitely makes me feel more relieved though, it meant that we're not really changing history because we were destined to do it."

Gage came out into an underground chamber that was covered with scripture. Gage had Arthur translate them all.

* * *

_Ever since the Spirit Teachers first gave our Shamans the gift of dream seeing, our people have been entrusted with recording stories of the past and stories that will come. We have seen that the wrath of the Brothers expands across many generations. Far, far into tomorrow, more years than can be counted by generations, the Brothers will return for a final battle, when all of the totems have been brought together. Our Shamans have had many murky dreams about this oncoming conflict. Though the outcome of this conflict is uncertain, the fate of the world will be decided.

* * *

_

_The City of Earth and Water was the first city the Spirits of Time and Space visited. They taught them the power of life, but there city was consumed by the Brothers in a battle of fire and wind.

* * *

_

_One terrible day in the shadows of tomorrow, the brothers will come to our city to search for the Totem that would allow them to see time as our Shamans do. They will destroy our city. But our culture, our stories, and our Totem will be saved by a brave warrior.

* * *

_

_One day in the shadows of tomorrow, a distant mountain city will be visited by the Spirits. Because of their focus, their priests were taught the power of matter. After learning from the all-powerful spirits, these holy men could transmute the elements. Then the brothers came demanding the power of matter and another tribe will be destroyed.

* * *

_

"Somehow, the Sosiqui predicted all this would happen," Gage said. "You were right, Arthur, the Shaman's vision didn't show the farm boy, it showed me." Gage laid his hand on the tongue of the Couatl Serpent on the dais. The tongue slid open and a pyramid-shaped object popped out.

"That must be the artifact," Arthur said hastily. "Hurry and grab it, Gage and I'll jump us back to TSA." Gage took the artifact and initiated a time jump back to the future. But as he did, he failed to notice one of the scripture which read:

_One day in the shadows of tomorrow, the brothers will return for a final battle, a battle which will decide the fate of all. Only through the return of the Chosen One, and the learning of the three attributes love, honor, and forgiveness, will the brothers finally be defeated and peace will once again reign throughout the land.

* * *

_

Main Cast  
Gage Blackwood, Agent 5: Jerry Rector  
Michelle Visard, Agent 3: Michele Scarabelli  
Arthur: Matt Weinhold  
William Daughton: David Fenner  
Comm. Jack Baldwin: Daniel Mann

El Dorado Cast  
Hachayo: Jeremiah Najera  
Scribe: Andrew Roa  
Aviary Guard: Frankie Avina  
Aviary Captain: Raoul Trujillo  
Shaman: Bill Trillo


	9. Time's Up

The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

Date: November 11, 2329  
Place: TSA; Appalachian Mountains, Earth

"I have it!" Gage cried running into the room. "I have the final artifact!"

"You're just in time, Gage," Commissioner Baldwin said. "The Qou'Thalas have just entered Earth's orbit, it won't be long before they locate the TSA."

"Receiving a high priority message from the Cyrollan cruiser Ackilla," William reported.

Ambassador Jhessela's voice was excited, "We feel tremendous energy emanating from the TSA you have the Legacy!" She grew solemn. "If we know this, so do the Qou'Thalas. We're sending Cyrollan Sentinels to assist you."

Suddenly the entire room shook with thunderous impact. That meant only one thing: the Qou'Thalas were attacking.

* * *

On the outside, several sub fighters darted across the mountains firing the lasers at the TSA's automated defense system. All the cannons were destroyed. The Qou'Thalas then turned their attack to the mountain itself. After enough attacks, a metal panel with the TSA logo was revealed. The Qou'Thalas concentrated all their attack on the symbol.

* * *

The room shook harder throwing the humans to the ground. Commissioner Baldwin was the first up. He ran over to the control panel. "The Qou'Thalas have breach the outer shielding, all security teams, prepare to intercept!"

* * *

All over the TSA, metal blast doors slid into place. Security teams took up strategic position. As the blast doors fell, the security officers opened fire with their laser rifles.

The rifles had no effect on the brutish eight-legged alien. They plowed through the security officers like they weren't even there.

Incredibly, none of them were killed, not even those who were trampled.

* * *

The interior cameras showed the Qou'Thalas rapidly approaching the Command Room. Everyone armed themselves.

As Gage made sure his weapon's power setting was set to a modest level, Michelle came over to him. "Gage, before everything gets out of hand, I just wanted to say… well… I'm sorry… for everything."

Gage's face was neutral for a moment, and then he smiled and patted her shoulder. His curt nod told her that all was forgiven.

The doors to the command room burst open and two Qou'Thalas stood. "The Qou'Thalas will finally claim the Legacy!" They declared.

"The Legacy was meant for all living beings!" Gage argued.

At the same time, a team of Cyrollans materialized. They quickly trained their weapons on the Qou'Thalas. "Agent 5, quickly, give us the Legacy or the Qou'Thalas will destroy us all if they claim it!" A Cyrollan warned.

"Cyrollan Savages have no right to the Legacy!"

"Can't you see this is happening again! You two races are fighting over something that's supposed to bring peace. I won't let you turn Earth into another battlefield!"

Suddenly the back of the Qou'Thalas opened up and another alien popped out like a womb giving birth.

The alien was uncannily similar to the Cyrollans. The two races truly were brothers.

The brutish alien that contained the real Qou'Thalas lashed out with a tentacle. Gage leapt to the side but the tentacle struck his temporal pocket destroying it. All the objects Gage obtained over his travels came spilling out. The gaff, bowl of olive oil, and gold coins from Atlantis, the Dob-Dob's staff and Gardener's sheers from Shangri-La and the Flint Talisman from El Dorado.

And the final pyramid artifact.

The artifact flew in an arch and landed perfectly at the table along with the other two. The ancient Sosiqui symbol (the same one that Ambassador Jhessela showed Gage earlier) appeared at the center of the three images.

The Cyrollans and the Qou'Thalas both lunged for the Legacy but a mystical beam of energy repelled them. The pyramids started to glow blue. Gage was mesmerized by the light. He slowly walked towards it and placed his hand in the center of the light.

The light transferred itself to Gage. His body was raised off the ground. When he looked down, his eyes were glowing the same color as the pyramids.

"Though the Sosiqui have long since transcended your universe, our Legacy has waited thousands of years for its proper heir. It contains the sum of our wisdom. It is the essence of what we were, what we are, and what we will be. This knowledge must be tempered with maturity. Its secrets will be shared with all the races of the galaxy but only when they are ready for such an awesome responsibility. Until that time comes, the Legacy will be safeguarded by beings who have already demonstrated their worth of wielding the powers of time, matter, and life." Gage's body was overcome by the light and a new person appeared briefly. Only Arthur recognized who it was: the Siddha Pilgrim from Shangri-La. "Humans shall once again assume their role as guardians of the Sosiqui Legacy."

The aliens in the room immediately genuflected, "We understand our elders, and we obey," the Qou'Thalas said.

"As do we," the Cyrollans threw in.

The Sosiqui image left Gage and his body dropped unceremoniously to the floor. Gage moaned and shook his head to clear it. As his eyes came into focus, he realized that a hand was being offered to him. He looked up and saw that it was Michelle who was offering it. He gave a sigh of relief and took it allowing her to help him stand.

* * *

Date: November 22, 2329  
Place: United Ministry Complex, New York City, New York, Earth

Michelle looked around at the court room. There seemed to be a certain air around the large room. Today was expected to mark the closing testimonies in her trial. It looked like a kangaroo court, though she wasn't really surprised. She wasn't exactly the politicians' favorite child. She noticed that the prosecution was busy scribbling down something on a note pad. Were they merely polishing up their closing argument or… it looked like they were writing questions.

Yes, there was a strange air about.

"How are you doing?" Her attorney, Sandra Gallagher asked. This was the same attorney who cleared Gage of all wrongdoing during his trial. From the looks of things, she won't have the same luck.

"Trying to decide whether I should take the top bunk or the bottom bunk when I arrive at Vega Thalon," Michelle said half-jokingly.

"I wouldn't start claiming dibs on bunks just yet."

"Huh?"

Before Sandra could elaborate, the judge walked in. "This court will now come to order," she announced. "Our original schedule was supposed to consist of closing arguments, but I understand the defense has one more witness to present."

"If it pleases the court," Sandra requested.

"Well I have already discussed it among the Heads of Ministry and they've decided to allow it. Ms. Gallagher, you may call your witness."

"Thank you, Your Honor; the defense would like to call Agent Gage Blackwood to the stand!" Michelle as well as the spectators who have gathered inside the courtroom that day all gasped. Gage, decked out in full TSA dress uniform, walked into the court room. Without looking at Michelle, he took the stand and was sworn in by the Bailiff.

* * *

Date: December 15, 2329 A.D.  
Place: Our Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery, Ontario Province, Canada

It was a blustery winter morning as a small crowd gathered around a newly dug grave site. The stone read

**DR. ELLIOTT SINCLAIR  
****2264-2329  
****FATHER OF TIME TRAVEL**

As the crowd started to disperse, returning to their homes or businesses, one person lingered at the grave site: Gage Blackwood. Dressed in a black trench coat and slacks, he walked up to the grave stone. Commissioner Baldwin and the World Senate agreed to keep Elliott's true lineage a secret. Considering now everyone knew about the Sosiqui, the Qou'Thalas, and the Legacy, it was a fair trade.

Gage reached into his pocket and took out a sun-shaped medallion, the gear that enabled him to get the first artifact. "Thank you, Saros," he muttered placing the medallion on the stone.

"You must be Gage Blackwood." A priest walked up to him. "I'm Reverend Thomas."

"Yes… that was a wonderful sermon you gave today."

"Thank you. You look like something's bothering you."

"It's just that… in some way, I feel responsible for what happened. Elliott was right, when I separated him from his lab; I prevented him from using the age reduction ability. I killed him." He lowered his head in shame.

Thomas was quiet for a minute before speaking, "I knew Elliott ever since he came to Vega Thalon." He walked around to the other side of the grave stone so that he was directly facing Gage. "I was the only one there that he confided his secrets with. On his death bed, he told me of your visit and he asked me to tell you that he does not blame you for his death. In his final moments, Elliott realized that this was his destiny. This is where it was leading him, to be the herald of the advancing of the Qou'Thalas. In fact, if it wasn't for you and your friend Agent 3, we probably wouldn't be here today. And on behalf of Elliott, I say thank you, Agent Blackwood." The Reverend turned and walked away. Gage pondered the Reverend's words.

"He's right, you know." Michelle, also in street clothes, walked up to him. "You couldn't have known his lab was keeping him alive."

"I know."

"Gage… I wanted to thank you. I didn't expect you to be at my trial, but because of your testimony, I was acquitted."

"You redeemed yourself, Michelle, I only spoke the truth."

"But you put your reputation on the line for me, even after everything I did to you! I don't… deserve it."

"This… experience taught me that I should not linger on the mistakes of the past, but rather strive towards a better future for all sentient beings. After all, isn't that what the purpose of the Symbiotry is, making a better future for all sentient beings?"

Michelle nodded. She entwined her arm in Gage's and the two started to walk away. "Have you thought about the Commissioner's offer?" She asked.

"I told him I would think about it, but it's a big decision."

"Retirement's not your style, Gage," a male voice said. A sharply-dressed man walked up to them. "Besides, I think your head would swell up too much if I had to call you 'Mister Ambassador to the Qou'Thalas, sir.'"

"Arthur?"

The man's image shimmered showing the truth: that Arthur was using the Chameleon Jumpsuit. "Don't forget, Commissioner Jack wanted you at the ceremony early."

Gage's head lowered again, but this time his look was a pained one, "Why did I agree to this?" He moaned.

"Why 'cause you saved the world again," Arthur replied dryly. "All by your self with absolutely no help from any…"

"All right, all right," Gage interrupted. "I won't forget to mention you."

"Oh, thank you, kind sir," Arthur kept up the sarcasm as the three started to walk away. "And when would this honorable mention occur, after desert or during the cab ride home?"

Gage stopped and pointed right at Arthur, "Right now. Arthur, I couldn't have done anything without you."

Arthur was satisfied, with that anyway, "Even though we're bound to make a big splash at OUR reception, I need a more formal chameleon guise, something macho… Gage, do we have time to jump back and meet Dick Clark?"

"Who?"

"Never mind, he'll probably be at the party." And the three friends walked off into the future.

The End

* * *

Main Cast  
Gage Blackwood, Agent 5: Jerry Rector  
Michelle Visard, Agent 3: Michele Scarabelli  
Arthur: Matt Weinhold  
Elliott Sinclair/Saros: Graham Jarvis  
William Daughton: David Fenner  
Comm. Jack Baldwin: Daniel Mann  
Jhessela: Connie Terwillinger  
Chaplain: King Stewart  
Qou'Thalas/TSA Guard: Eric Dallaire  
Cyrollan/Helm Distress Signal: Phil Saunders  
Sosiqui/Siddha/Pilgrim: Ping Wu  
Nurse: Susan Sattler  
Sandra Gallagher: Margie Frey  
Judge: Jennifer Hill  
Bailiff: Ron Wroczynski

Atlantis Cast  
Padros (Beggar): Gene Chronopoulos  
Akmed (Egyptian Captain): Richard Tanner  
Amon (Windmill Keeper): Brian Nahas  
Kashi (Ferryman): James Hazelwood  
Talos (Potter): Lyle Kanouse  
Tira (Olive Oil Vendor): Dominique Debroux  
Guard: Fredrik Cavally

El Dorado Cast  
Hachayo (Farmboy): Jeremiah Najera  
Hachayo's Father: Miguel Najera  
Shaman: Bill Trillo  
Goquar (Aviary Captain): Raoul Trujillo  
Aviary Soldier: Frankie Avina  
Scribe: Andrew Roa

Shangri-La Cast  
Lama Dalsden: Koji Kataoka  
Genghis Khan: Francisco Viana  
Imul (Gardener): Arsenio "Sonny" Trinidad  
Dob-Dob: Khin-Kyaw Maung


End file.
